Co-worker that stinks.

So this seems whiney and a bit strange.

I have a coworker, late 50's, and he thinks its hilarious to walk up to me and fart, giggle and walk off.  Its a daily occurence.  TOday he did it again, and I replied "If you do that one more time, I will put a complaint in about you" he said "Oh yeah?" and walked up to me and farted again, giggled and ran off.  This same guy stinks of cigerette smoke.  He smells like he has sat in a closet for 70 years smoking, and never washing his clothes or brushing his teeth.  His breathe is also horrible.

After this happened I talked to my manager and expained I was done with this guy, he had to have a word with him.  My managers reply was "hahaha... I cant stop people from farting, and cant tell them to brush their teeth or to change clothes and shower, nice try"

I end up paired up with this guy more then anyone, and in small spaces.  And my manager knows I don't like him, so always makes me work with him.

Surely there is a health and saftey law about this?  I looked into it online, but could not find anything, anyone have any imput or a link to some thing?

Thanks

Contrary to your line manager's belief, he actually *can* tell your coworker to cease coming up to you and showing off his flatulence. If he feels uncomfortable attempting such a simple managerial task, go to your HR Manager. It is their job to field complaints about the work environment, especially if it involves harassment. Sounds to me that you should also be complaining to your HR Manager about your line manager. He doesn't seem to take being your manager seriously.

I'm trained in Health & Safety, and there really isn't a rule about the hygiene of a coworker. Someone (HR) would need to find a sensitive way to pull them aside and advise them on how to take care of said issues. Again, your HR Manager may be able to tackle that. Health and Safety is meant to identify and protect against issues that may cause harm in the workplace. Smelly coworkers aren't counted amongst that.

However, this is obviously causing you a certain amount of stress and making you uncomfortable in the workplace, and the HSE (http://www.hse.gov.uk) lists that amongst its top risks in the workplace. Could be the foundation for an argument against this annoying guy.

Not sure what to do, but it seems like it could be some form of harassment (at least immaturity!).  When you contact your line manager and HR, try to keep stuff in writing/email so you have a record of what you've done about the problem.  If you can prove it's an ongoing issue and you've taken steps to fix it, they might be more willing to take action.   

Sounds ridiculous.  Good luck.

Thanks for the replies.

Stock take tomorrow, and all fork truck drivers (me) and non fork truck drivers (like him) have to be paired.  I requested to not have him as a partner and the manager went against what I requested and paired us.  So now tomorrow 6 hours sharing a forklift shoulder to shoulder... eww....

Your manager sounds like a real prince.  Also, it is his job to deal with this sort of thing.  Last year I worked with someone who stank badly of BO.  So badly that he made entire rooms stink and people could hardly breathe.  The manager had to say something because several people complained.  Maybe the problem is that no one else has said anything about this guy?

I feel like I should weigh in on this from a management point of view.

I had an employee who stank.  A couple of them, actually.  One was the typical basement-dweller who'd occasionally turn up unwashed, probably because his World of Warcraft raid went longer than expected.  The other, more frequent offender was a middle-aged woman who regularly went up to a week without showering/washing her hair, and I'm not sure her clothes were ever cleaned.

Although I noticed on occasion, I never thought it was the end of the world.  A bit unpleasant, but what can you do?  Then again, I had my own office.  I only had to be up-close and personal for very brief periods, a few times a week.  I didn't have to sit a few feet away from them in a rather stuffy, completely open-plan office.  So when other employees started to complain, at first I thought 'what is this?  high school?'  I suspected that a lot of the complaints stemmed not from actual hygiene concerns, but from the fact that these two individuals were also just incredibly awkward and annoying.  (And in the case of basement-dweller, I do think that was 90% of it.)

I admit that I took a while to deal with the situation, partly because I was swamped with issues that, frankly, seemed a little more pressing than B.O., and partly because I really had no idea how to tackle the issue. 

The trouble wasn't really basement-dweller.  As I said, he wasn't really the habitual offender that people made him out to be, and even if he had been, I could have looked him in the eye and said 'dude, take a shower,' and not only would that have been sufficient, I don't think he would have been especially offended or embarrassed.  The problem was the middle-aged lady.  I knew that she'd been homeless in the not-too-distant past, and I really didn't know what her current situation was.  I felt it was entirely possible that she didn't have hot water, or soap, or money for laundry facilities.  I also knew that she had a history of filing complaints against employers for discrimination, unlawful termination, etc.  Now, since she was a temp (they all were), I could have solved the whole thing really quickly with a single phone call.  But we were absolutely drowning in work, she was at least reasonably competent, if rather slow, and she happened to be the only means of transport for her niece, who was one of my team leaders.

So, in the end, I sent a memo to everyone, naming no names, but laying down guidelines for hygiene.  I also made it clear that shower facilities were available for use in the company's on-site fitness centre, and that soap, etc. could be made available.

It worked...-ish.  Things did get better, but there were still some days that were rough.  Mostly, I thank God they shut the product down and I didn't have to deal with any of them any more!

So, the moral of the story?  Even though your manager sounds like kind of an ass, it's not actually always as easy to deal with something like that as you might think.  By all means, if you can speak to someone in HR, go for it.  They might be able to do something.  But at the end of the day, I wouldn't hold my breath.  Or, you know, get used to holding it.

Well said, woadgrrl.

But I think there's a difference between the two situations..... your story shows people who passively smell (if that makes sense) and DahmerIsDead's coworker is actively or proactively smelling.  He seems to be doing it purposefully and that might be some kind of harassment that could (and should) be stopped.....  in my opinion.   

One was the typical basement-dweller who'd occasionally turn up unwashed, probably because his World of Warcraft raid went longer than expected. 

your story shows people who passively smell (if that makes sense) and DahmerIsDead's coworker is actively or proactively smelling.

    I'm sorry, but I found the above two comments to be riotously funny. 

  I'm sorry, but I found the above two comments to be riotously funny. 

   Mine was intended for humour and to get across a point I didn't know how else to say.... ok.... I could have thought of another way to say it, but how often do you get to say someone passively, actively or proactively smells?          

  Mine was intended for humour and to get across a point I didn't know how else to say.... ok.... I could have thought of another way to say it, but how often do you get to say someone passively, actively or proactively smells?          

No, no. It was perfect! LOL!!

No, no. It was perfect! LOL!!

    

Dahmer, it sounds like your manager and your colleagues are just complete fannies.  The guys are winding you up because they know you're going to go and complain to your useless manager, who will do nothing, and you will just gain a reputation as a clype, which isn't going to do you any favours in the popularity stakes. Perhaps that is something that's not important to you, though.

As others have said, it is your manager's job to speak to people if there have been complaints about stinky colleagues.  It was uncomfortable for all parties concerned, but my own manager had to do this recently... twice... once about a guy that believes that deodorant causes cancer and refuses to use it, and then about another guy whose cat (apparently) pisses all over his coat and bag.  He didnt stink before he got the cat, and he doesnt stink when he is away from his desk... it's just his coat and bag hanging off his chair that cause others around him to retch.

I can't believe people can be so oblivious and self-unaware.

But in Dahmer's case, it sounds like sheer ass-holery. 

Now, since she was a temp (they all were), I could have solved the whole thing really quickly with a single phone call. 

If she was from an agency, you should have contacted them to handle it. That's their job as they are technically her HR person. They wouldn't have fired her, just counseled her. We had to do this all the time when I worked in staffing.

TOday he did it again, and I replied "If you do that one more time, I will put a complaint in about you"

Maybe it's just me and maybe I'm the only one here who'd have handled it a different way, but it would take A LOT for me to make a complaint or go to HR. The first thing I'd do is ask the smelly person to sit down with me and just have a few words about it, explaining why I find his behaviour offensive and why it's inconsiderate. I'd do this without threats of complaints which, honestly, aren't going to get you anywhere except on his sh*t list. Have you tried just talking to him? Human being to human being?

Horses for courses, but I'd have probably just ignored it, cos it seems like they are just doing it on purpose to get a reaction.  Dahmer has now given them the reaction they want, so they think they've 'won'.