Company issues shower reminder: ‘Don’t fool yourself — you smell’

A company’s summer hygiene memo urges employees to shower daily. Captured from X

A Korean company has gained attention online for posting an internal memo urging employees to shower at least once a day, as summer approaches and concerns over personal hygiene in shared office spaces grow.

A user on the social media platform X uploaded a screenshot of the notice with the caption, “Our admin team just issued a ‘one shower per day’ announcement.” The post quickly went viral, prompting a wave of reactions.

“As the hot summer approaches, we kindly ask all employees to strictly follow personal hygiene guidelines," the company's administrative support team wrote in the memo, according to the post.

Recommendations included showering at least once a day, wearing clean clothes, using deodorant or wet wipes and dressing in breathable attire for work.

The notice also emphasized office ventilation, asking staff to air out rooms before work and after lunch, and to use air conditioning and purifiers when necessary.

“Don’t assume you don’t smell — your coworkers just aren’t telling you,” it wrote, warning employees to be mindful of cigarette odors, sweat after exercise, bodily odors and clothes that haven’t been washed.

The original poster welcomed the message, writing, “It’s a shared space, so I appreciate that the company addressed this. Some people come in wearing damp laundry and it can be unpleasant.”

Online commenters responded with mixed emotions. “This is the first time I’ve seen a company issue a memo like this,” one user said.

Another added, “I wish my office would post something similar,” while another wrote, “Ironically, the ones causing the problem never think it’s about them.” Some even expressed a desire to share the memo in their workplace chatrooms.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.