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Grossed out in Gotham
Dear Advicenators,
At my workplace, several colleagues and I have an awkward situation that has developed between us and our boss. It has gotten so bad recently that it has begun to affect the quality of our work and how we interact with her.
On several occasions in the winter months, she has come into the office directly from the outdoors and started an informal meeting, many times without even putting down her coat or bag. The problem is that there is typically a great deal of condensation and mucus that has decended onto her upper lip and into her mouth. She doesn't notice it, but it makes it impossible for her employees to listen to her.
In addition, she has terrible halitosis. It is so bad that when her employees are talking with her, they can not concentrate on what she saying. As a result, they make mistakes in the areas that were covered in their conversations.
What can be done? Any kind of intervention might result in us getting fired.
What do you suggest?
Sincerely,
Grossed out in Gotham
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Oh man, that's bad.
Try having someone send an anonymous letter to HER boss explaining the situation with the breath and how it is affecting work. I'm almost positive it's illegal to fire you for such a complaint.
This may not be very... plausible, but I'm sure a mirror installed at the back of the conferemce room would get her to notice her upper lip. ;-P Maybe someone not likely to get yelled at could offer her a tissue or handkerchief?
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Gross...she has no clue? Sounds like real managment material to me! Must have been slim pickins when she got promoted.
Man, maybe you could leave an anon. note or something.Make sure it's written by someone who's handwritting won't be recognized.Type it maybe.Tell her like it is as politely as possible! She probably will be embarrassed but I doubt she will mention it.Hopefully, you will notice an improvement.
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She is a woman. We all look out for each other. Tell her, subtley. You also offer gum or breath mints often. Offer tissues. She wants to stay looking professional so once you tell her she has mucus problems or what-not she'll straighten herself up.
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Well in my personal opinion that is gross. And if you want the problem to stop you should tell her. Imagine if it were you and you were unaware of this problem, wouldn't you want someone to let you know? Don't do it in front of everyone else that would be embarassing. Take her aside and ask if she is sick and if she says "No, Why?" then tell her about whats going on that way you can kind of ease into the conversation about it. That or you might as well deal with it all together because im sure she cant read your mind.
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I say, in pure seriousness, if there aren't any security cameras around...you should slip in some Listerine packets in or around or even on top of her desk! If you can't do that, just step back a little when she's talking so you can concentrate more on what she's saying than her bad breath. I do not suggest you telling her that she's nasty because that can cause even more problems. If worst comes to worst, just hold your breath!
As for the mucus, just politely offer her a tissue. =)
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