Ask the Wizard of Weirdness
By John Putzier
Q: I am writing you on behalf of my entire department. We have a co-worker, Al, who stinks to high heaven. The bottom line is, he doesn't wear deodorant. I know we are supposed to be sensitive to multi-culturalism and embrace diversity and all that, but nobody can get near him! He's known around the office as Al Naturalé!
We are afraid to say anything because we think his reasons for not wearing deodorant may be related to his religion or something, and we don't want to be accused of discriminating against him because of his national origin or anything. What can we do?
Sincerely,
Nose Knows
A: Organize a gift exchange, make sure everyone gets Al's name, and give him deodorant, soap, cologne, air freshener and as many other "smellums" as you can find. Okay, just kidding…
It may sound un-American, but legally speaking, if an employer has a job-related reason for something that unintentionally impacts a person's religious convictions adversely, or someone's religious observance causes hardship to the employer, the law permits such "discrimination."
In Al's case the hardship to the business is evident. His smells make it difficult for employees to concentrate at work. If you or your boss cannot force or persuade Al to eliminate or control his odor, employees will not be able to work effectively and otherwise efficiently. That would hurt the business, and that permits you to clamp down on Al and his smells.
A word of caution, however. I do not recommend that you or your co-workers take the lead on this. Go to your boss, Al's boss or Human Resources and plead your case. You cannot assume that Al's stench is the cause of poor hygiene or religious convictions. He may have a disease or be taking medications that exacerbate the problem, in which case, he may have to be accommodated under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
As a final thought, does Al have any close (as close as they can get) friends? If so, perhaps you and/or your nosey associates might approach him or her and express your concerns, in terms of concern for Al and his job success, and see if his friend might be able to have a tough love intervention with Al. After all, that's what real friends are for.
Probably more than you wanted to know, but I don't want you to come out smelling worse than Al!
Odiferously Yours,
John Putzier
Wizard of Weirdness (WOW)
