Put off by slovenly co-worker

DEAR AMY: We work for a large company with the typical fabric-lined cubicles. As anyone who has worked in this type of office environment knows, these walls are not soundproof. Unfortunately, we have a co-worker who is constantly sneezing, coughing, blowing his nose and yawning -- every day, for eight hours a day. We also enjoy the occasional burp and hiccup after he consumes his cans of soda. There are loud personal and business telephone calls during which we begin to critique his grammar to ourselves. Along with this is the unpleasant smells of body odor and lack of dental hygiene. It's gotten to the point where we will not enter an elevator after he exits or sit by him during a meeting because of his odor. We work in a professional office, requiring "business casual" dress, but he comes to work with stained, wrinkled clothing, and his coat is held together with silver duct tape. We have complained to our management team several times regarding this person, but nothing has been done so far. Do you have any suggestions on what we can do?Holding Our Breath

DEAR HOLDING: You can't control how your co-worker dresses, and you (and he) probably can't control some of the bodily noises he makes during the day.

But how his coat is fastened is none of your business -- and some of your comments are unkind or (at the very least) intolerant.

If your co-worker is speaking too loudly during telephone calls and this interferes with your own professional duties, you should ask him to please lower his voice.

If your management team is unwilling to help you by asking him to modulate his behavior or hygiene habits, then your only choice is to stop sniping and concentrate on figuring out how to tolerate him.