Advice Needed - Manager with Poor Personal Hygiene and Leaves Food to Rot in Communal Fridge

Redang3lz on 18/01/2018 - 13:56
Last edited 18/01/2018 - 14:25 by 1 other user

I need some advice. I work with in a small shared office with several staff members and my manager, who is abrupt, unapproachable, with anger issues, thinks she's the centre of the universe, oblivious to anything that doesn't involve her.

1) She lacks personal hygiene, lets be blunt, she stinks. Cannot figure out what the smell is but it definitely comes from her. The best way I can describe it is rotten egg x pee x halitosis. We tried giving some subtle hints but didn't work.

2) She leaves food/leftover lunch in the communal fridge, until it starts to stink and rot. I usually throw the mouldy food out because it's disgusting, but I'm sick of having to clean up after her!

Please suggest ways to make my work life more bearable!

Thanks in advance.

Education & Work

Comments

      • Gronk on 19/01/2018 - 13:42

        In the case of the person I spoke to it was just hygiene, it's just a really awkward discussion to have. I believe some conditions such as psoriasis can result in the sufferer smelling a bit unsavoury.

    • tkdbboy on 19/01/2018 - 11:50
      +1

      LOL second paragraph

  • AssamLaksa on 18/01/2018 - 19:19
    +7
    1. "Sabotage" current fridge so that it "breaks down"
    2. Convince boss that a new fridge is required.
    3. Have old fridge miraculously working after new fridge has been bought and delivered.
    4. "Oh well, guess you can have your own fridge since you're the manager. The rest of us are fine sharing the other fridge"
  • Plug on 18/01/2018 - 23:43

    Get someone to post a letter to her outlining the issues. As it won't have come from someone in the office there'll be no comeback.

  • nobarginsarehere on 19/01/2018 - 05:33
    +5

    Pretend you dont see her come into the room and say "what smells like rotting oysters?"

  • solidussnake on 19/01/2018 - 07:07

    Have a note on the fridge that all food will be thrown out every Monday my boss used to do this at JB and would throw out heaps as it was over filled and a lot of nice Tupperware gone forever. I know its a pain but every one will appreciate it.

  • birnie on 19/01/2018 - 07:30
    +5

    At my old job, I personally did a fridge clean out.
    Everything that was off, i took photos of and noted down used by dates….
    Then a group email was sent out with attachments, all polite etc..
    No names of course, I didn't know who owned what but people would recognize their own stuff and some owned up laughing, others probably thought, geeze that was me and cowered away.
    I think it served it's purpose to a degree and gave people something to talk about/laugh about/cringe about.

    for the record, the worst offenders were an open tin of sardines with the tin lid just sitting on top and weeks old….
    and a macaroni/cheese that was so mouldy, it was ALL green and hardly a spot of curly pasta to be seen, it took awhile but we figured out what it was eventually.
    …funny, that offender came clean ! He walked up and said "you know that M&C ? That was mine !" He was laughing and cringing ! Good fun !

    If that doesn't work, take the stuff out, that's off, you know it's hers, put it in her draw…
    If that doesn't work, next time tip it in her draw :D

  • witsa on 19/01/2018 - 08:07
    +3

    the problem with people who stink is that they don't know they stink and nobody tells them. If they knew, they would change but you can't change what you don't know.

    So leave her an anonymous letter with your concerns (in a polite way). You obviously don't want it tied to you and depending on the situation you may not even want it tied to work so maybe even drop it off at her house. Esp. with her temper, the messenger will likely be shot. And whilst she will be embarrassed and angry, once she settles down, she'll now know there is a problem and will want to address it.

    With the rotting lunch, send a floor wide email saying there's a problem with food rotting and that from now on, you should write your name and date on your lunch. You don't need to be a manager to do this - most people will understand it's just common sense. That's usually the problem with communal areas to store food - people forget that that sandwich or salad or whatever was theirs. Once the ownership is lost, nobody is going to touch it until its thrown out.

    • Redang3lz on 19/01/2018 - 09:37

      I think your comment is fair enough, she wouldn’t know unless someone told her.. but surely her husband can smell it, or maybe he’s used to it?? Don’t know.

      I wish someone would invent a tablet or injection of common sense, it would save everyone a lot of frustration!!

  • magic8ballgag on 19/01/2018 - 08:57
    -1

    I'm sorry, but the majority of advice that others have posted is really poor.

    The OP should not have to drastically adjust a portion of their life just because someone else can't take care of themself.

    The manager should be reported to management higher up and dealt with accordingly.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 19/01/2018 - 09:22
    +1

    If working in large offices have taught me anything, it is this:

    passive aggressive solutions are the funniest solutions.

  • infinite on 19/01/2018 - 09:27

    Just bin her stuff when no one else is around.

    Alternatively, you could just start an administrative process unrelated to the issue like a Quality Assurance review, or OHS&W review of basic low level office areas and procedures. Do a 5 min "audit" of each work area and then put in the report that the kitchen area poses a risk or health danger to employees, due to contaminated or expired food & lack of hygene. No one get's named, it's not any individual's fault but because it's an official statement on record now and an identified risk, all staff will be forced to become compliant or face disciplinary procedures from any random anonymous report. You can literally do that entire process in under an hour, it tick's off a bunch of administrative crap for managers that they wont have to deal with for a month or so & it will force your manager to pull her socks up or face disciplinary action.

  • DiscoJango on 19/01/2018 - 09:28

    Just leave all her food on her desk. She shouldnt be able to complain about that

    Loudly comment "what is that smell?!" when shes in the area

  • [Deactivated] on 19/01/2018 - 09:35
    -8

    I'm sorry to break it to some but , everybody with a body smells .
    Unless you shower a dozen times a day you stink , so climb down off you're high horse.
    The 'deodorant' and perfume just add to the toxic cloud

    • smuggler on 19/01/2018 - 10:20
      +2

      asians don't smell

      • GregMonarch on 20/01/2018 - 01:47

        !? Obviously you've never bought food from the Chinese takeaway near me. They REEK of garlic.

        • smuggler on 20/01/2018 - 09:41

          Nothing wrong with garlic

        • payton on 20/01/2018 - 15:07

          @smuggler:
          one a day keeps the vampires away

        • GregMonarch on 21/01/2018 - 22:47

          @payton: If only it worked on land whales.

    • Redang3lz on 19/01/2018 - 12:38
      +1

      It's not like I'm complaining about people that work outdoors/physical demanding jobs smell bad. My work environment is indoors, air conditioned, and the smell is there first thing in the morning?!

      No one else in the office smells. Some people just smells more offensive than others..

    • smartazz104 on 19/01/2018 - 21:57

      Username check out.

    • WhyAmICommenting on 19/01/2018 - 22:39
      -1

      climb off you are high, horse

  • stephjess3 on 19/01/2018 - 09:44
    +3

    It’s a health & safety issue big time, can you speak to the top boss (especially the food in fridge issue)
    , if you can’t speak to big boss then ring work safe in your state!!!! They will have an inspector out quicker then you can say vegemite!!!

  • Jules_d1 on 19/01/2018 - 10:36
    +5

    While all the things you are saying are valid, take a step back and and think WHY she might be this way. She might have some things going on her personal life that are so f%ucked up that she can barely function on a day to day level. Right now she's just surviving.

    You just never know.

    If you want to try and be the bigger person in this situation, when you get a moment with her, ask her with full empathy "Is everything ok? I've noticed you've been a bit on edge recently and I just wanted to see if you're doing ok."

    You might uncover something or you might get the door slammed in your face. Either way you've done something really nice and you can say you've tried. After that you can go down the paths others have mentioned.

    • decr on 19/01/2018 - 17:27
      +1

      And possibly be the first one to get the boot if things go south? I didn't learn from my first mistake of informing my boss 6 months in advance that I was moving overseas, I thought it'd be best for the business and help smooth the transition. Everything went to shit and they finally found someone a year later after I left.

      Even a good employee-manager relationship can turn to crap really quickly.

  • picklewizard on 19/01/2018 - 11:12
    +2

    I throw out any bad food I find in the fridge. If it's in a nice container it still goes in.

    I can count on no hands the number of complaints I've had.

    As for the hygiene, maybe it's time for a new job. I can't imagine the toll being on edge or stressed 8 hours/5 days a week must be like. Is it worth it?

  • tommy-darko on 19/01/2018 - 11:37

    Take her to a day spa and beauty salon, buy her a new outfit, take her out to dinner, show her a good time. She may be depressed and in need some TLC.

    • payton on 19/01/2018 - 12:04
      +2

      and come home as friends with benefits?

      payton on 19/01/2018 - 12:04 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
      • tommy-darko on 19/01/2018 - 12:52
        +2

        Sometimes the craziest women are the best in bed, so worth a shot.

  • team teri on 19/01/2018 - 11:39

    How long has it been going on like this with the BO? Maybe she is in the early stages of trying this? https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/06/i-stopped…

    • GregMonarch on 20/01/2018 - 02:10
      +2

      What rubbish that article is. I've gone weeks without using shampoo (daily hot water only), but the entire body!? Yech! They need to meet some African folks. There are several in my group of friends. When they first arrived in Australia no-one said anything. But the stench which was already bad just got worse. Eventually one of us quietly told one of them. They said it wasn't part of their culture to shower regularly or wash their hair for months on end, couldn't smell it themselves, asked was it really THAT bad, and told YES. It is. They would play soccer/baseball and it got really bad, nearly at dry-reaching point. So he started showering. And washing his hair (which for some strange reason was the worst of the smell for the females). After several weeks he said he had begun having 'the conversation' with his Uni friends from the same country, and the reason he did, was now HE could smell had bad it was too. All of them were grateful for finally being told and embarrassed and irritated that thanks to the PC police/lefty loons, everyone had been too scared to say anything for fear of being wrongly labelled racist - and had to put up with the gagging stink! (Newsflash lefties: The word you wrongly label r-a-c-i-s-m, is actually r-e-a-l-i-sm.)

      • payton on 20/01/2018 - 15:19

        They would play soccer and it got really bad, nearly at dry-reaching point

        can hear the commentator going: once again, Mbote scores goals after goals with no one in pursuit, a soccer superstar is born!

        but back on topic, when someone has bad breath or BO and no one dares to tell them out of 'politeness', really they are just dooming the person to be socially excluded and being left to wonder why.

  • MessyG on 19/01/2018 - 11:47
    +3

    I think you should go to her manager. If she is leaving food to rot and has poor personal hygiene and is having difficulty controlling her anger, then something sounds like it is very wrong but it's not for your or your colleagues to fix. I would seek a group meeting with her manager and express your concerns, and simply say you don't feel comfortable raising them with her. It's better to do it as a group. Leave out the centre of the universe part. Ultimately if it's reached a point where people aren't productive because of this, higher management will want to know about it. It sounds untenable to me.

  • chuckynoris on 19/01/2018 - 12:01
    +1

    I also think you should contact management and let them deal with it. I also think there is something going on in her personal life which is causing these issues. The management really do need to know so she can be given help. She wont be sacked over it. Though she may get warnings over her anger management.

  • klendestined on 19/01/2018 - 12:28
    +1

    For the BO, it is rare but could be Trimethylaminuria. No amount of deodorant / washing helps. I think diet can help control it a bit better but it could be an extremely sensitive issue and not her fault so tread carefully. Its a pretty shit condition to have TBH.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylaminuria

    For the food in the fridge, there's someone from every office. Do a clean out day once a day / week, ask people to label their food as well, may help.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/01/2018 - 13:01
    +2

    For this solution you need x2 items;
    (A) Functional Ducking Stool
    (B) A Pond
    Under the guise of a 'team building' day out, take the disorderly woman to a pond (see B, above). Tie her to the functional Ducking Stool (see A, above).
    Give her a good old fashioned medieval drenching. If the humiliation doesn't do the trick at least she would have got some sort of a wash. ;)

  • jar-unit on 19/01/2018 - 14:45

    Have you thought about sitting down with her privately to discuss the issue in a civil manner

    • Redang3lz on 19/01/2018 - 14:58
      +1

      Thought about it? Yes. Actually doing it? No way in hell. In the past this woman makes all comments/conversations into a massive conflict/argument, even about stuff she's overheard in the office, whether it is work related or not. I can guarantee she will not be civil.

      • jar-unit on 19/01/2018 - 15:09
        +1

        Fair enough. Perhaps an anonymous email ?

  • LUTSlit on 19/01/2018 - 15:08
    +1

    Lodge worker's compensation claim.

  • OBEY YOUR MASTERS on 19/01/2018 - 18:10

    I'm going with the medical condition idea. That could explain the smells,the bad moods and the outbursts etc. Perhaps a gut related infection.

    Does she actually eat any food that needs throwing away? Any known abuse of sugar or alcohol?

    Just empty the fridge on Friday arvo. Somebody has to do it. Might as well be you.

    Regardless, I think you should look for another job. Life is short.

    • Redang3lz on 19/01/2018 - 18:38

      I'm thinking it's a combination of medical condition and extreme laziness.

      It's too bad that I actually like my job (somewhat). She just makes it crap..

    • GregMonarch on 20/01/2018 - 02:16

      I'm going with the medical condition idea. That could explain
      the smells,the bad moods and the outbursts etc.

      LOL. A certain political persuasion and bias can produce those too. (Milo Yiannopolous has a made a career out of exposing these.)

  • bah humbug on 19/01/2018 - 18:38

    Anonymously place her rotting food in her bin next to her desk. Eventually she will get the hint.

  • smartazz104 on 19/01/2018 - 21:59

    OP you're either going to:

    A. Make a complaint to her boss
    B. Confront her directly (hopefully with others to back you up)
    C. resign

    None of this crap about buying her anonymous gifts of soap or hiding her food in her office.

    Your move.

  • RiseAndRuin on 20/01/2018 - 02:14

    post reviews on websites like glassdoor, wait a week or two, then have a confidential talk with HR and let them know that you accidentally found those reviews, and that your manager is damaging the company's reputation.
    btw from my personal experience, (sadly) I believe you're very lucky if you have this kind of issues with only one person in your company. I see so much worse every day at work.

  • duckk on 20/01/2018 - 07:21

    the B.O issue is everyday or just some of the days?

    • Redang3lz on 20/01/2018 - 11:07

      Everyday. Some days more nauseating than others…

      • duckk on 20/01/2018 - 13:04
        +1

        just mention that mens are more attracted to good smelling females and see how it goes

  • DarkOz on 20/01/2018 - 12:07

    Grow some balls and tell her straight what the problems are! I can't believe that you have several staff members and none of you are game enough to say anything.

    It's so obvious that she knows what she is doing and she doesn't care about you. Don't you worry about hurting her feelings.

    Tell her straight in her face what the problems are. If this doesn't resolve the issues you have 3 other options:
    1. Tell the boss
    2. Put up and shut up
    3. Find another job.

  • aussieprepper on 20/01/2018 - 14:00

    Here buy one of these bad boys.
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-3200psi-petrol-pressure-wa…
    Hose her down and then clean out the fridge. If she has an issue you can hose her away lol.

  • xcess on 20/01/2018 - 15:46

    I saw on TV a woman had a smelly down under and she washes and cleans it excessively which was actually bad cos it washed away the good bacteria. It got better once she stopped cleaning it so much

  • Frugal on 20/01/2018 - 20:48
    +1

    Glen 20.

  • snook on 20/01/2018 - 23:24

    Is she fat?

    I have worked with some fat people that STUNK. I reckon it's because they can't reach to clean themselves properly.

    • Your Friend on 21/01/2018 - 07:58

      yeah plus they sweat profusely due to being overweight

      • picklewizard on 21/01/2018 - 13:10
        +1

        LOL I wonder what the BMI of those that downvoted you was

      • snook on 24/01/2018 - 10:04

        Well that's your answer right there.

        I agree, they are putrid. Go to HR. Fat or not, no one should have to put up with the stench.

        Both the ones i worked with are gone due to fat. One died and the other got so sick, no more working.

  • thriftybunny on 21/01/2018 - 14:26

    I'm guessing OP's hands are tied resolving this civilly given the manager sounds really difficult to reason with and is looking for some clever creative ideas :)

    For surviving bo
    1. Air freshener/perfume diffuser/purifier etc whatever makes your life easier
    2. A powerful fan that blows in her direction
    3. A gas mask - a good one with charcoal filter

  • raiseyoursteaks on 30/01/2018 - 10:19

    Some of these guys never shower for days..

  • Geekomatic on 31/01/2018 - 18:44

    Start putting out CV's— now.

    I once worked at a major retail chain & we had a manager that was just awful. I think possibly personality-disordered. Bigoted, misogynistic, manipulated staff to cause riffs, etc…Everyone was miserable & were talking about leaving. This went on, for months, as asst. managers came & went (none could stand him for more than a few months). I tried going to HR & the next manager up, who replied they were taking things I told them seriously & we should meet to have a chat. I tell them I'm only saying something because everyone in the place was so down & expressing they wanted to leave (& they were good people/workers).

    A few days after our "chat" (outside of the shop, btw), I get called in to a meeting with them & this manager— & told that upon speaking to the rest of the staff, "I" was the one "bringing them down" (lol). I laughed out loud then- in the meeting, mainly because I'd dealt with a partner exactly like these people. I stated that if, indeed, the others did not back up what I'd said, that it was likely due to intimidation from their questioning & possible repercussion more than any impact I, as their equal, could possibly ever have. At any rate, later that day, the manager wanted me to sign a form, "it doesn't go into your record, it's just acknowledging this meeting"- to which I said, "nope". Well, he stormed around the shop for the rest of that shift- lol.

    Guess what? The next morning, we all get gathered up front as he announces his, "retirement"….They knew, all right. The guy is reprehensible.

    I found a new, & MUCH better job, within a couple of weeks.

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