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Question is pretty self explanatory. I have a colleague with whom I work closely with and enjoy the company of, however he has recently started exercising and comes to the office smelling quite poorly. In fact, I find that standing within a conversational distance of him is quite unpleasant (to the point where I actively start breathing through my mouth).

Is there any way I can mention this to him without being rude?

edit: I am not in the position to plan a meeting or schedule some other roundabout way to indicate to this person that their hygiene isn't up to par. The linked question contains a similar problem, but I can't utilize the same kind of solutions suggested.

sfidf12489
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  • Is the co-worker opposite sex? If not, you can be like, "Dude you reek! Do they have a shower at the gym?" If you're close friends as well. – Dan Jul 17 '18 at 15:49
  • @Dan I'm not really that casually friendly with him. I definitely don't feel comfortable calling him out like that. I don't think he would take it in a friendly manner and it would receive my comment as more of a perceived slight. – sfidf12489 Jul 17 '18 at 15:52
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    @sfidf12489 check the dupe I suggested, it has several great answers that fit perfectly to your situation :) – DarkCygnus Jul 17 '18 at 15:54

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I would take this up with someone at a manager level (either your manager, or his manager, or maybe if they're the same person then even better). Managers will present the problem anonymously; rather than you confronting him and coming off as rude, like "hey dude don't you shower what the heck" which comes off as aggressive (and even if you don't say it this way, even a polite breaching of the topic of hygiene can come off this way even if unintended) which is person-focused, coming from your manager it will be like "people on the team have noticed and mentioned that..." which is problem-focused. Making the situation problem-focused is much less likely to cause personality clashes and hurt feelings.

Ertai87
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