Are we now a nation of tattle -tale and snitching in the workplace

[Ridgley]

A friend of mind, told me yesterday that one of her colleague walked out of her job yesterday because her line manager spoke to her regarding her personal hygiene issues and told her this will remained confidential.

To me this a very tricky subject to approach anyway but I feel this manager had no right to discuss this with other staff members I am sure the Lady in question is embarrassed as it is.

Just wondering is this quite common in the work place tattle ? tale and snitching.

[expat]

>told her this will remained confidential.

so why do you say the line manager discussed it with other staff?

[Lawrence]

Perhaps those hygiene issues were a little more than 'personal'

[Ridgley]

Because she over heard other members of staff discussing this expat and if it was more than personal Lawrence why did she tell her it was?

[SeanMacGabhann]

isn't it more likey that the staff know about it because it was they reported it to the manager and wanted something done about it?

[Ridgley]

You could be right SMG but I feel, it has been handled badly I just putting myself in her shoes how she must be feeling and what her colleagues really thought about her I could not work there after that if that had happen to me.

[Narnia]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

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> isn't it more likey that the staff know about it

> because it was they reported it to the manager and

> wanted something done about it?

You should have been a priest MacGabhann!

[Pearson]

She's just being oversensitive!

You can't do anything right these days, without someone finding reason to complain about this/ that/the other..

Sound to me like he was doing her a favor, sometimes the truth hurts.

[Ridgley]

Really Pearson how would, you feel if your line manager treated you like that I not saying that her manager should not have spoken to her it is how it is handled. And this particular case it is a sensitive issue.

[Annette Curtain]

Ridgley Wrote:

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> Really Pearson how would, you feel if your line

> manager treated you like that I not saying that

> her manager should not have spoken to her it is

> how it is handled. And this particular case it is

> a sensitive issue.

Smack them in the mouth & give them a front wedgie

( which is probably why I am the line manager & chief bottle washer )

::oAnnette

[Pearson]

You don't give enough information for us to know exactly how her line manager handled this.

So we are left to speculate. More information would of course result in more accurate feedback.

Is your 'friend' a close friend or merely a colleague.

They seem to know a lot about this apparently private personal issue/problem?

I stand by my first post!

(i am an insensitive line manager)

[Lawrence]

Treated like what? Details please.

The manager said it was confidential but as Sean points out there is no smoke without fire. Clearly this personal 'issue' is offending/revolting someone/everyone or the matter would not have been raised. Reality is that the staff will have been chatting about this for weeks, likely transforming from a funny one off gossip to daily moaning about the 'issue'

(I am an sensitive line manager, I buy Lynx for loads of the staff and dole it out to the stinkers on line, thus avoiding any embarrassment)

[Ridgley]

I afraid that is all the info, I was told on this interesting points of you I am surprised Pearson that as an incentive manager no one as told you where to get off.

[Pearson]

^ Oh, come on just a little humour.

It is Friday after all :)

Now who's being sensitive.

[Ridgley]

Ha Ha:)) happy now

[louisiana]

I'm still struggling to discover what exactly Ridgley meant in the original post. There seems to be something missing between the first and second paragraphs.

[acumenman]

Lawrence wrote. (I am an sensitive line manager, I buy Lynx for loads of the staff and dole it out to the stinkers on line, thus avoiding any embarrassment)

I would say that is a soft sell, after all they are adult, and if they cannot smell themselves and have yet to discover the delights of a bar of soap, then they should be asked 'have they lost their sense of smell'.

It is a real pain working in close proximity with someone who reeks and doesn't realise it.

I worked with one such smelly toad and I asked him "when did you last have a shower man, you have a great big hooter in the middle of your face and it's useless, you stink."

He reddened and became threatening but when he came the next day he gleamed, in fact it was the cleanest anyone of us had ever seen him.

Why should the rest of the decent tidy industrious workers in the place, suffer for one inconsiderate lazy, unkempt, low-life scum bag?

If they are in the wrong they should be told, the rules are for the benefit of the majority.

[Pearson]

^+1 to that!!

But i fear there is more to this than simply having a good shower from reading Ridgleys posts....

[Ridgley]

I agree with Acumenman in the person must be told, but my point is how you tell it you are lucky he did not tell you whats what or smack in the mouth not everyone will react in the way you did it. Should everyone be told in your office can not this be done discreatly do you need somone tittle - tattling

[acumenman]

I have always been short sighted when reading between the lines,

so spell it out Ridgley, so we can do a real axe job!

[HAL9000]

I once had to work closely with someone who had diabetes: her body odour was almost unbearable, to my olfactory sense, anyway. I had thought it was a hygiene issue but it turned out she bathed every day - there wasn't anything she could do about it - it was a natural side-effect of her illness.

[womanofdulwich]

I dont think jsut having a shower is always enough-I think deoedorant is also needed sometimes- especially if wearing synthetic fabrics.

[Twirly]

Whilst it's important not to be whiffy, it's important that the person is told tactfully. Put yourselves in their position and think how you'd like to be told. At the sametime, the person needs to be told firmly, so they're left in no doubt what they need to do.

Some people don't have a sense of smell at all, it's a condition called anosmia. And people perceive odours/degree of odour in different ways. Women, generally, have a much more sensitive sense of smell than men (though obviously not in this case) and where a man might think he's clean and fresh, a woman might disagree!

And whilst the use of a deodorant is often necessary, some people are allergic.

[Ridgley]

That?s is exactly my point Twirly, is how you handle the situation

[HAL9000]

Tactfully - sorted! Next!