How mean a person do you have to be?

G

Gcapman

Okay.

So we have an Indian girl at work. She's very smart, a tad shy and keeps to herself but apparently she has body odor.

There are some co-workers that make fun of her very very covertly.

They are not very outright so our supervisors and directors don't know what's going on.

I work for a very very reputable firm - one of the best in NYC.

My question is that I've only heard whispers here and there from others about her BO. No one has directly said that she stinks bad but I notice that sometimes people at meetings sit next to her, only to move when they find out that she sits next to them.

Any advice? I want to tell her because I think she is a genuinely nice person.
 
I think the best approach is to talk to HR and let them handle this. This is what HR is for and this is what they do.

As a reminder, office environment could get hostile. I would rather have HR deal with her for her BO, instead of having HR deal with me for something I said.

PA
 
Are you personally aware of this issue, as in, how bad does she smell?
As in, um, have you , er, smelt her?

For you to personally do something about it, without the veracity of personal experience would kinda stink.

If you get my drift:D
 
Back in the day I worked in a hardware store. We had this one older guy who smelled bad (plus he smoked cigars). Most of us kept an aerosal can of "odors away" nearby. He'd walk by and we'd spray it behind his back.

Once in a while a customer would come in and want to buy some "odors away". The boss ( he was old deaf and loud) would go to the shelf and say "My Gawd, are we out of "odors away" again?

One way or another the secretary got "stinky" fired (she was tight with the boss's son).
 
I've heard someone say that they want to make her quit voluntarily.

Is possible that our firm can let her go for body odor?

She's very helpful to me so I would hate to see that happen.

??
 
Quote from Gcapman:

Okay.

So we have an Indian girl at work. She's very smart, a tad shy and keeps to herself but apparently she has body odor.

There are some co-workers that make fun of her very very covertly.

They are not very outright so our supervisors and directors don't know what's going on.

I work for a very very reputable firm - one of the best in NYC.

My question is that I've only heard whispers here and there from others about her BO. No one has directly said that she stinks bad but I notice that sometimes people at meetings sit next to her, only to move when they find out that she sits next to them.

Any advice? I want to tell her because I think she is a genuinely nice person.
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If it's a hygiene problem, seems best that HR would try to clue her in. However, there is a medical condition which causes BO.
 
Quote from Pension_Admin:
I think the best approach is to talk to HR and let them handle this. This is what HR is for and this is what they do.
More...
Quote from achilles28:
Send her an anonymous email
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This situation is hardly my area of expertise but I like the above suggestions the best, in order of preference.
 
You won't get any better advice than Pension_Admin already provided. There certainly won't be anything easier than calling them up and dumping it in their lap. Why are you even asking for anything else?

Kinda reminds me of this old joke:

A group of girlfriends is on vacation when they see a 5-story hotel with a sign that reads: "For Women Only." Since they are without their boyfriends and husbands, they decide to go in.

The bouncer, a very attractive guy, explains to them how it works. "We have 5 floors. Go up floor by floor, and once you find what you are looking for, you can stay there. It's easy to decide since each floor has a sign telling you what's inside."

So they start going up and on the first floor the sign reads: "All the men on this floor are short and plain." The friends laugh and without hesitation move on to the next floor.

The sign on the second floor reads: "All the men here are short and handsome." Still, this isn't good enough, so the friends continue on up.

They reach the third floor and the sign reads: "All the men here are tall and plain."

They still want to do better, and so, knowing there are still two floors left, they continued on up.

On the fourth floor, the sign is perfect: "All the men here are tall and handsome." The women get all excited and are going in when they realize that there is still one floor left. Wondering what they are missing, they head on up to the fifth floor.

There they find a sign that reads: "There are no men here. This floor was built only to prove that there is no way to please a woman."
 
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