New offices all unisex toilets

[Ottobeak]

I have to find new offices and the best ones I've found so far are in a block where each floor has an accessible toilet and a "block" of unisex toilets.

The block is a room off the corridor with individual floor to ceiling cubicles, with a sink in each.

At a staff meeting today I presented the option and explained about the toilets, to gauge what objections there might be.

There were none, at all, in fact people seemed perplexed that I might think there would be.

We have unisex loos - floor to ceiling doors, free sanitary products, sink in cubicle. All very nicely done. I was one of the people who was worried about unisex until I saw that the cubicles were truly private.

However, some of the men have been disgusting in their inability to hit the target so 2 of the cubicles are going to become women only and 2 will be men only. I bet no one uses the men's loos and the women's ones will be permanently engaged.

We have two cubicles off a hallway, floor to ceiling as they're directly off a hallway
Sinks in them
Technically unisex but we labelled one male and one female and everyone is happy with that
Occasionally the men will go in the women's one just to grab supplies - we have wipes, hand cream, hair spray, bobbles, deo, poo pourri spray etc in there!

Just have loos specifically for women and make the men’s loos unisex. If people genuinely don’t care then nobody will have any problems and things will carry on as normal

At a workplace I visit often, with toilets similarly configured, the staff themselves have designated each cubicle as male or female with felt tipped signs on the door.
It started with notes on the wall asking men to lift seats to wee, to mop up spills and asking people to use toilet brushes when needed. Then a few weeks later the ladies and gents signs went up.

Mixed sex loos tend to be dirtier than women only ones. The lack of urinals means piss all over the floor, the seat, the skids marks in the bowl, etc. For that reason alone I would hate this. Also we need more cubicles than men, we tend to take longer when using the loo for obvious reasons so ideally would need to have more of the unisex cubicles designated as women only which defeats the object.
There is also the issue that many women are just not comfortable doing their business with men in the cubicle next to them,so what about their dignity?
Lastly mixed sex loos tend to attract weirdos. Men who secretly film women on the loo with hidden cameras and those who like to get off on knowing that there is a woman in the cubicle next door, leaving their spunk on the loo roll, sadly yet another disgusting kink.

Worked in an office with mixed toilets at one site and not at another. All the mixed cubicles had a sink and facilities within them, the single sex toilets a row of sinks. Only issue was the cleanliness of the toilets. Really not so good at the mixed site and a number of complaints and having to check out the cubicle to see if it was fit to use! It was considerably better at the single sex toilets for cleanliness and that's based on 7 years of using the facilities, so not an assumption, but first hand experience.

Can’t think of anything worse than doing a number 2 and coming out of the cubical face to face with a man from work.
Oh wait, would be worse if he went straight in after.

I think people's experience of unisex loos can vary wildly, depending on the layout and the kind of people who are using them.

Last week I went to a new office for the first time and I got confused looking for the loo. There were two loos off a small corridor and I saw the men's sign on one of the doors, so I went in the other door without checking. Inside were three cubicles with floor to ceiling walls and doors. No urinals or anything. It was only when I came out and washed my hands and a man walked in and gave me a funny look that I realised something was up. Sure enough, when I checked, both outside doors had a men's sign on, and the women's toilets were round the corner. So in my office, the men's toilets are just as nice and clean as the women's, but we still don't want to run into each other when washing our hands. In other places, I've found unisex toilets to be rather nasty, and the smell which often emanates from men's toilets when you walk past the door doesn't exactly make you want to go in there. (Although now I wonder how much of that smell is due to the fact that they have urinals, rather than men peeing all over the floor.)

Nevertheless, I think unisex toilets cause more problems for more people than they solve.

My office has unisex toilets like this and I have never had an issue with them. As far as I am aware, all the other women use them too. They are always clean.

I wouldn’t have an issue as long as there are proper cubicles with no gaps under doors etc

We have this set up at work. I hate it. Toilet seat left up, piss all over the toilet, left grubby. I would far rather designated m/f toilets.

I use an office with this arrangement. Almost immediately it self organised into ladies at the near end, and men’s at the far end.

Maybe place products in one end that appeal to women- hand cream, sanitary supplies, room spray. Products that appeal to men at the other end!

Self contained cubicles with a sink, enough room to change, adjust clothing, deal with a stoma etc is the perfect loo situation IMO.

Removes the issue discussed in Invisible Women about urinals meaning women have less access to toilet facilities when actually we need more.

Who was in the meeting? All staff or representatives?

Mens piss smell and on the seat and floor.
Revolting

We have this at work - I think I prefer it overall than traditional loos with gaps at the bottom of the doors and communal sinks. It actually feels much more private and you can sort yourself out properly if you need to as the sink is also private.

They're always clean but I assume that's because we have cleaners more regularly. I bet frequency of cleaning is causing the difference in experiences on this thread rather than some people working with worse men.

Lots of small workplaces only have one toilet - it's very normal! I'm genuinely surprised to read all the objections - what would you all do if you worked somewhere with just one loo?!

I prefer them as the sink is in the cubicle so hands can be washed before locks/door handles etc are touched. Also better for dealing with things like moon cups and stomas as it’s truly private.
Regular cleaning is an absolute must however!

This was introduced when we moved offices. I kicked up a stink about it (excuse the pun!) because of the potential mess and my Muslim colleagues’ feelings. One side is women now and the other side men. But the disabled loo is on the men’s side so it naturally has become another male toilet. I’ve had to use it over the last year because of some mobility issues and they leave it SO messy. So I stand by my insistence. And I was thanked by several women for speaking up.

We had this in my NHS workplace years ago, works really well, I’d be happy with it.
i much prefer an enclosed cubicle than a shared single sex space which is more open.

Going in to the toilet after a man has been sitting there sh1tting for half an hour while reading his newspaper. Piss all over the floor and toilet. A place where you know when you exit the toilet you are not going to come face to face with a man you detest working with and realise he is just about to enter a place where you have just carried out a very private and personal act. There are so many reasons

All to appease a 'tiny minority'.

What about women's needs?

I don't want to share facilities with any men, due to anatomical differences they tend to make more of a mess.

As others have said women need to use bathrooms for lots of reasons, especially minority women, top to bottom cubicles are also a health and safety risk , if someone becomes ill in one it's harder to access from the outside or even be aware of the issue. Also, although unlikely, it is harder to escape a fully enclosed toilet should it be needed for any reason. It is easier for predatory males to put cameras in, we all know that some males do this.

That really doesn't work when men (and women) don't wash their hands before leaving the cubicle and because a certain percentage of dirty people don't wash their hands, it's not hygienic at all.

Seems to offer privavcy and adequate facilities and I would also have no issue with this set up in a work/ office situation as I expect all my co-workers to be able to manage to use a toilet. With a small team it is easy to address any poor hygiene and have a word with the culprit. It's amazing how differently people behave when they know they could be called out on being gross!

For a more anonymous setting, in any settings where there are members of the public passing through and especially bars etc where alcohol is involved, I can see how this could quickly become less appealing!