DEAR AMY: There is a woman who works in our office who never washes her hands after using the toilet. She comes out of the stall, turns the water on and off quickly so it sounds as if she is washing them. Lately, she has not even been using water. She just runs her hand over the auto paper towel dispenser and wipes her hands on the towel.

She also has a hygiene problem. She smells so bad that you can hardly be near her. You can see that her clothing is dirty. She also has chronic infections that add to the odor. This is a delicate situation as she is physically challenged, and she comes from an agency that helps place challenged employees. She is a hard worker, and everyone likes her.

At Christmas, the employees took up a collection and put together a basketful of household items such as soaps, detergents, towels and shampoos. Our human resources department contacted her agency and informed them of the situation. They were supposed to have talked with her, but we have not noticed any change.

We even had our health and wellness department come talk to the entire department about the importance of washing your hands properly. Do you have any ideas?

Baffled at Work



I have spoken to professional managers who have had to tackle the hygiene issue with workers. Your manager or HR representative should do this privately with your co-worker and be compassionate and specific about what she needs to do. The placement agency should be proactive and helpful, and it should follow through with the employee.


I think your answer was a little off-base -- merely telling kids that if they lose something they are financially responsible gives them little incentive to replace it, especially if they didn't want it in the first place.




