Body
Managing Odor
MU Health Care expects employees to maintain a professional appearance, including appropriate personal hygiene, in accordance with HR-5005: MUHC Dress Code Policy. This includes ensuring that employees are free from unpleasant odors (including body odor, fragrance, tobacco, or marijuana odor) while at work.
Per HR-5005 – Dress Standards/General Appearance:
- Employees must maintain a clean, neat, and professional image
- Apparel must be clean and in good repair
- Fragrances are not permitted due to patient safety concerns
- Personal hygiene must be maintained, and body free of unpleasant odor
Reasonable Suspicion Consideration
- If odor of marijuana is observed, pause and consider whether additional indicators of impairment are present and consult with a member of Employee Relations.
- Review the Reasonable Suspicion Checklist
- Odor alone is NOT sufficient to proceed with testing
- If no other signs are present → proceed as a dress code concern
Leader Options
- Coaching → First occurrence or there is no informal prior discussion and documentation
- Progressive Discipline → Repeated concern after prior documented coaching
Required Action if Odor is Present
- Remove employee from work area
- Employee must:
- Go home to shower/change, or
- Change clothes on-site (if feasible)
Having the Conversation:
Best practices:
- Hold conversation privately
- Choose timing that allows employee to:
- Leave to address the issue
- Be clear, direct, and non-judgmental
- Recommend watching this 2.5 min video ‘How to Tell Someone They Smell’
Key talking points:
- “This is a conversation, not discipline”(if coaching)
- Clearly state the observed concern
- Tie to Dress Code expectations
- Set expectation for immediate and ongoing compliance
- Explain next steps if behavior continues
Explore Underlying Cause/Offer Support:
Leaders should assess for potential barriers:
- Access to:
- Shower facilities
- Laundry
- Hygiene products
- Transportation/shared environments (common in marijuana odor cases)
- Offer support where appropriate:
- EAP resources
- Problem-solving solutions (e.g., keeping clean clothes at work)
Documentation
- Always recap the conversation via email to the employee
- Include:
- Expectations
- Policy reference
- Next steps if behavior continues
How to Have the Conversation
Plan to meet with the employee privately and approach the conversation in a direct, respectful, and non-judgmental way. It is recommend to watch this 2.5 min video ‘How to Tell Someone They Smell’
A simple structure you can follow:
- Introduce the conversation
- “I wanted to connect briefly regarding something I’ve observed.”
- Share the observation
- “I’ve noticed a strong odor [be specific if needed — body odor, smoke, etc.] during your shift.”
- Explain the impact
- “This can impact the work environment and patient experience.”
- Connect to policy/expectation
- “Per our Dress Code (HR-5005), employees are expected to maintain personal hygiene and be free from noticeable odor at work.”
- Pause and allow response
- Give them space to share context or perspective
- Set expectations and next steps
- “Going forward, you’ll need to ensure you’re reporting to work without this concern.”
- “If this continues, the next step may include formal discipline.” (if applicable)
Conversation Tips
- Keep the tone calm, factual, and supportive
- Focus on what you observed, not assumptions
- Expect the employee may feel embarrassed — allow space to process
- Have the conversation at a time when you can:
- Allow them to leave to address the issue, or
- Close to the end of shift if appropriate
Support
- Ask about access to:
- Shower facilities
- Clean clothes / laundry
- For smoke/marijuana odor:
- What’s your plan to ensure the odor isn’t present at work?
- You can also suggest practical options (e.g., keeping a change of clothes at work) and offer EAP resources if needed.