Case Study

I once worked for a successful, upscale advertising agency run by two business partners, Deke and Steve. One of their most successful, creative representatives was a gorgeous young woman named Gloria, who also had an uncanny knack for belching like a much larger person. Other employees in the office got a kick out of it, and clients rarely visited the site, so it didn’t seem to be an issue. However, Deke and Steve felt that her behavior didn’t quite fit their image of a professional office. So, they scheduled a private meeting with Gloria and politely asked her to tone it down. She agreed that she would try, but added that she had an untreatable medical condition that caused excessive gas and actually made it painful to hold it in. Deke and Steve felt that this was a reasonable compromise and that they now better understood the situation. Case closed.

Dealing with Flatulence

All of us have had to break wind (either north or south!) at some point in time. At home, it’s often not as much of an issue, but untimely gas in the workplace can be terribly embarrassing. A simple, “Excuse me, I’m sorry about that,” will usually suffice.

However, if you have an employee who constantly trumpets “God Save the Queen” out of one end or another, you need to address it. Not only does it affect your company’s professional image, it certainly must be distracting for other co-workers.

Your conversation, of course, should start with setting the time and place. Then, you can start addressing the issue. If you have a good relationship with the co-worker and you feel that you can be light-hearted about the situation, you might say something like, “George, an issue has come up about your office etiquette. Personally, I get the fact that you need to let out some gas after lunch. We all do it! But, I think it’s offending your co-workers. Do you think you could be a little bit more discreet about letting go in the office?”

A more serious approach might look like this: “George, a sensitive issue has come up about your office etiquette. I’m not sure if you’re aware it or not, but you seem to have an excessive amount of gas. I’m worried that it’s distracting those around you and making the office environment uncomfortable. Do you have any ideas on how we might solve this problem?”

Dealing with Incontinence

While flatulence can be funny, incontinence is certainly on the opposite end of the scale. There’s nothing more embarrassing than having an accident at work… or having accidents on an ongoing basis.

With this in mind, tread carefully when bringing this up to an employee. You might start by saying something like, “Susan, a sensitive issue about your hygiene has come to my attention, and I’d like your help in solving it. This will be private and I promise to keep our conversation confidential. Do you have a few minutes so that I can share the problem with you?”

If Susan agrees, you could continue with, “Some of your co-workers have come to me out of concern for you. They have noticed an odor coming from your work area, and it is making it hard for them to focus on their work. They describe it as a strong urine smell, and they have noticed it several times over the past few weeks. Do you think that there is something that you could do to resolve this situation?”

Just as with body odor issues, if Susan says that the problem is related to a medical issue, put the conversation on pause and get your human resources department involved.

If Susan says that she is sure that the odor isn’t coming from her work area, say something like, “Well, I appreciate your time and your honesty. This is a tough topic to handle and you’ve been really co-operative. I’ll do some more investigating and let you know if I need any further help. Does that sound OK to you?”

Then, investigate the problem further. Ask employees who observed the problem for more information. If the observation is just a strange odor, you may want to check for pest infestations. If the problem persists and you’re sure it’s the employee, have the conversation again, and share the new information.

The other possible outcome is that the employee may have been the source of the problem, been too embarrassed to tell you, and resolved it on their own.