Help! How to tell a new employee they stink up the office...
I work in a tiny 1 room + postage stamp bathroom, & a large storage closet, 5 person office. We do have 12 other employees that only take up space in the office 1st thing in the morning, but they all depart to work their routes after checking in the work from the previouse day. We are a very laid back mom & pop type of service business that performs repair services in extremely wealthy peoples homes. This is where I believe the owner will eventually have to speak up. We have a relatively new service employee that practically bathes in patchouli cologne prior to coming into work. Next to bleach, that is public enemy #2 for my nose. I find myself having to use hand sanitizer to neutralize the odor when he walks into the office. If I'm bowled over by the stench, I am so surprised our wealthy clientele haven't called in to complain (apparently I'm the only one that has an issue with it at work). When did it become the norm to ignore social norms when it comes to personal odors? How do I broach the subject with him, as the boss isn't. He and I are close in age me 47 him 40. How would you approach this, especially when the boss is missing all of the context clues. I mean I am a self proclaimed troll, so I could certainly start saying to no one in particular when he walks in, "OMG what's that smell?" But I'm not here to hurt his feelings either as he seems to be a nice person.