Office odours
JOBURG - What would you do if your office buddy had bad body odour?
Although journalists and editors are extremely busy people, driven by daily deadlines, the moments we have to spare are filled with interesting conversation.
Sometimes it is serious, but most of the time we use the opportunity to make each other laugh and bring up subjects people don’t often talk about.
The most recent being body odour and “weird unidentifiable smells”. This seems to be an issue a lot of people have had to deal with and one they’d rather avoid.
The reality is, though we all sweat and when you work in an open plan office, sitting a few meters away from each other, it is likely you will catch a whiff of the person next to you.
One of my colleagues asked me how I would approach someone who has an odour problem. My answer was, I’d buy a bottle of deodorant and leave it on their desk. But this might be offensive or the person may not catch the hint.
Some people would argue that they would rather like to know if they smell funny, but when you tell them they get upset or their feelings get hurt. Personally, I would like to know rather than having people talk behind my back.
Do you have an odour problem in your office? How would you approach the subject?
Details: Email our editor in chief at sammib@caxton.co.za or leave a comment below. Connect via Twitter at @randburgsun
