Douse him with Febreze and liquid soap. I guarantee he'll get the idea pretty quickly.

give him a hamper pack with soap and sanitary products

Too many negative votes, comment buried. Show the comment

Even if your depressed it's not like you can't take a shower, :x

He may have problems atty home like the water may be cut org until next pay check.Good luck OP.

That's actually a really douchebag-thing to do. Just tell him directly, OP. Somehow, he might appreciate it.

Honestly, I don't really care what problems you have at home. If you are working next to me and stink/can't change your clothes, I'll give you shit about it. For a couple days. Then take it up with your boss. Depression isn't a free pass.

I'm with ya, 32. Even if you're depressed as fuck, that doesn't mean you don't need to be at least a little hygienic. I can understand not shaving for a month or eating a tub of Ben and Jerry's while watching some sad movie. But you need to take a damn shower. Not just for yourself, but for the people around you. I can not stand the smell of someone's BO. It's fucking disgusting. I'd tell him to take a shower before he comes into work. OP shouldn't have to deal with that. If you want to smell like shit on your own time be my guest, but in a professional environment you need to be somewhat clean. That's just downright nasty.

Jw90 and Alonur - Thanks for ruining a perfectly good joke.

Yep, I was going to say something like "trip and spill some Dr. Bronner's on him"

Doc, I think the problem was that your joke was a little too clean this time. Eh eh? Haha. Yeah I know, mine was pretty bad..

I suffered from severe depressions for years and most of the time I was able to maintain at least a minimum of hygiene, take a shower now and then or change clothes. I admit there were times when I just had no energy for things like this - but then I was simply not able to go to work or university too. I admit though, that every person is different when it comes to things like this.

Anyway, I think a direct approach might still be the best thing one can do.

I agree with 58: If this guy had depression so severe he couldn't shower, I seriously doubt he'd make it into work everyday.

actually a lot of people suffering from mental illnesses have trouble caring about something so obvious as personal hygiene

I battled depression (almost to the point of suicide) but I never went that long without a shower. but people do handle it in different ways, so you may be right.

I can go a week, a week and a half without showering or changing my clothes. All depends on your mood, when you're down you really couldn't care less about yourself.

Maybe invest in one of those decorative air fresheners and point it in his direction

That stinks. I'd like to clear the air in the room: OP shouldn't have to invest money to be comfortable working in the ol' factory. It's not a sweatshop (we hope)!

Or, or…maybe Op's workmate doesn't have money for other clothes or running water. He could be working there to improve his standard of living.

ask him if he's hugged his soap fairy today.

Or ask him what's up. Maybe he has become homeless. Happens all of the time...

he still has a job and therefore, still needs to maintain a professional image. you can get a hot shower at a truck stop where they also have laundromats. that is IF a friend or relative wouldn't take him in the the instance of homelessness.

Megan, not every homeless person has relatives / friends or the means to get to a truck stop. None of the truck stops near me have showers either. While I agree maintaining a professional image is important, not everyone has the ability to.

The right thing to do might be to directly tell him, he might not like it but at least he will know that he is making you uncomfortable

Be gentle, though--don't want to be known as the office asshole!

You could start wearing a nose plug.

That would force them to breathe out of their mouth, and I feel like that tasting b.o is worse than smelling it.

Hand sanitizer and baby wipe the phone and everything they touch

have the office sign a petition requiring him to shower. you shouldn't have to sit next to that.

That's going a little too far, try talking in private first, then have the boss talk to them, then the petition,

Or the OP could be an adult and tell him politely he has BO. If he doesn't do something about it, then get more vocal.

Fill one of his office drawers with soap and air freshners that will get his attention

Care package filled with deodorant seems like a worthy use of money? Or you can always booby trap the door with a bucket of water and soap...

Start a conversation about personal hygiene. Lets just hope he gets the hint!