This guy I work with for 6 hours every night has been starting to make these leather chairs and stools in my work space smell like absolute dirty *******, gooch, and ball sweat. The smell literally sticks to the furniture and lingers for hours until I spray it with Lysol. It’s ****ing disgusting. I want to do this respectfully without making him feel bad about himself. He’s about 340lbs and 15 years older then me. I don’t want to come off unhinged and end up with in a call from HR or my supervisor about this conversation.

Tell me word for word what you would say to this guy?

I’m gagging as I type this. Ded srs thread.

Just ask HR, make a complaint. His body odor is disrupting your ability to do your job. I’m assuming personal hygiene is a part of his job description?

"I'm sikh of the way you smell, rajvesh"

"brother i don't mean to offend you, but you have a strong smell..."

Yes it’s definitely a part of our job description without being in there specifically. I work on an oil rig. But I don’t want to go to the Captain about it. I feel I can squash this respectfully right here if I can say this politely. I’ve been taught to bring solutions and not problems. I’m due for a promotion to a management level position soon so I want to show I can handle small things like this without incident.

This is what I was thinking, very simply put, maybe I’m over thinking this. Everyone and their mother is so god damn sensitive nowadays makes me second guess things.

Do you think I should do it with just the two of us here or should I have a witness, the guy who relieves him at midnight, just in case? That’s another thing I’m thinking about.

just u 2, someone else being there could be more embarrassing for him.

just be nice about it

The easiest way to not single someone out is to get HR do a broad refresher on office rules and policies, ie with the warmer weather coming up and the office being a small workspace, we suggest everybody shower, wipe their ass, and wear regular deodorant. Then no one employee is being singled out.

You reasonably should be able to approach someone man to man and tell them they smell, but the way offices are, it's just not worth the hassle. Something like that is highly sensitive and could create unneeded conflict. If there are already BS protocols for what you're supposed to do in this case like anonymously whine to HR about the guys stench, and you instead choose to go cowboy **** by solving it yourself, there is more risk that you look lacking in emotional intelligence if the guy complains about you insulting his culture (bacteria not expected norms of his place of origin).

Only you know the norms and stuff of you office, and how management might view you trying to sell the guy on deodorant, but in a general sense it sounds like way more could go wrong if he takes it badly.

So I shouldn’t tell him to come over to the chairs and make him smell the seats and hold his face into it while yelling at him “bad [insert name]”?

I may just start hard sniffing the chair and then give a loud Ric Flair Wooooooo multiple times to get his attention and then tell him to come over and smell this **** and just say we all need to work on our hygiene.

He's going to be embarrassed regardless to be fair.
Having a witness to vouch that you handled it fairly and professionally isn't a terrible idea.

Especially since OP seems to care more about how he looks handling this rather than how the guy feels. Which is fair.

100% care more about handling it correctly than his feelings.

We had a guy like that where I work. Multiple talks, reports to HR, one time he brought like 6 big ass roaches in his bag from his dirty ass house I'm sure. So he opens his bag for something and these roaches fly out. Anyways, I bullied him till he quit. On his last day I didn't come into work, in case he decided to shoot up the place.

yeah you ain't quick enough

Welp…..

I waited until the guy who relieves him showed up at midnight and just told the both of them that the seats are starting to smell funky and that we all need to practice enhanced hygiene techniques because it’s a reflection of our department if people come up here and notice our furniture smells like big foots dick. Didn’t ask either of them to smell the chairs but the guy coming on did and gagged pretty hard. Didn’t blame anyone specific and had a witness so I think it went well.

These 2 actually share a room together and the guy who came on at midnight said tonight was the first time in a week that he has seen a laundry bag delivered for the smelly one. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been not showering for 2-3 days and wearing the same **** stained undies.

That's a very diplomatic way to handle it. Hopefully you don't have to bring it up again.

Politely and subtly vomit when you walk by them

just tell them straight up