Poor personal hygiene driving colleagues to distraction

Could bad breath be stopping your team from reaching its targets?  Or is that persistent cough driving your co-workers nuts?  A new survey has revealed that poor personal hygiene and offensive bodily habits are resulting in a loss of productivity for Australian businesses.

The recent poll from Employment Office has revealed three quarters of Australian workers have been impacted by the poor personal hygiene and distracting bodily habits of their co-workers, causing them to lose concentration.  One in five employees said it negatively impacted on their productivity at work.

75% of respondents reported finding it difficult to work alongside someone with offensive body odour, while 64% have struggled working with a colleague with bad breath.

A further 60% have had trouble concentrating due to a co-worker’s persistent coughing and 48% have had to put up with a colleague with excessive flatulence.

While the subject of personal hygiene can be a sensitive one, it is best for employers to manage such issues in a timely manner, for the comfort of all employees, and to protect the employee in question from continued embarrassment.

“As soon as you become aware of the problem, it’s best to address it privately as soon as possible.  Be considerate, but direct, making sure the employee understands you are not personally attacking them, but rather suggesting changes for the comfort of everyone in the workplace.

“It is important for an employer to resolve any personal hygiene issues before other staff members do it in a non-tactful way.  If this happens the problem can easily escalate and become a bullying issue,” Tudor Marsden- Huggins, Managing Director of Employment Office.

The survey also revealed that despite concerns about the bodily habits of co-workers, 85% of employees are in favour of open plan workspaces. Whilst workers are not desperate enough to go back into secular offices and cubicles, it is still a concern that one in five employees believe the poor personal hygiene of others is affecting their work.

It is important that businesses create an open environment where one-on-one communication is encouraged between employee and manager. This will go some way to dealing with delicate topics.