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Original poster

Could you do your job if you had diarrhoea 4-5 times during your shift? (Not caused due to a food poisoning or a bug)

59 replies

Ketley67 · 21/04/2026 21:05

That’s all really. Could you do your job if you had urgent diarrhoea 4-5 times during an 8 hour shift?

OP posts:
angelofmydreams1981 · 21/04/2026 21:48

Yes IBS in the office I go to the top floor (that’s empty) and use their loo! People still take fag and vape breaks at mine so me disappearing isn’t a biggie. Wfh days are clearly easier for me!

Abso · 21/04/2026 21:53

Yes but I'm mainly WFH. But even on office days it would be ok rbf unpleasant. Infrequently have diarrhea due to IBS.

It's never stopped me working in a kitchen either as long as I could evidence the IBS as the cause.

Tigerraar · 21/04/2026 21:56

I'm frontline emergency services so no, definitely not

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BearSoFair · 21/04/2026 21:58

No - I work in food prep!

ExquisitelyDressed · 21/04/2026 21:59

Yes so long as I could make it across the office, down the stairs and through another office probably about a minute's walk, and there wasn't anyone else in the ladies (I'd use the gents in an emergency).

plims · 21/04/2026 22:01

It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these.

somanychristmaslights · 21/04/2026 22:03

Surely it depends. If you’re in an office with easy access to the toilet, then yes you could do your job. If you’re out on the road (paramedic, police officer etc) then no.

plims · 21/04/2026 22:04

What about you OP? It’s a rather personal question to ask when you haven’t given your own thoughts/opinions.

RaininSummer · 21/04/2026 22:04

Would be pretty tricky if I had to leap up in the middle of interviews which would be likely with back to back appointments all day. Also would probably have an embarrassing incident on my journey to work too.

PeonyBulb · 21/04/2026 22:04

No I absolutely would not be able to do my job

CarlaLemarchant · 21/04/2026 22:04

Judging by the smell in the Ladies at my workplace throughout the day, plenty of people do.

Blocksfruity · 21/04/2026 22:05

The stomach cramps leading up to the diarrhoea would be too distracting, I could be present and doing the bare minimum but I wouldn't do a good job with a stomach ache all day.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 21/04/2026 22:07

Yes, if my job was a product tester at Andrex.

plims · 21/04/2026 22:08

I’m quite wary when people create threads with the sole purpose of getting others to talk about their bowls habits like this.

SocialSkills00 · 21/04/2026 22:09

Yes as I WFH

Cyberjammies · 21/04/2026 22:10

My Dad had Crohn’s disease and no Colon or rectum, he lived with diarrhea several times a day and worked all his life, albeit a desk job. However, he occasionally suffered ‘flare ups’ that were a lot more severe (when his crohns was active and he needed, meds, occasionally hospital and def couldn’t work during those episodes

Original poster
Ketley67 · 21/04/2026 22:10

plims · 21/04/2026 22:04

What about you OP? It’s a rather personal question to ask when you haven’t given your own thoughts/opinions.

Well I have fistulating Crohn’s disease and my sphincter muscles are starting to become affected. My consultant thinks that 4-5 urgent bowel movements during work are reasonable. There’s no adjustments that can be made for me to accommodate this so I was just wondering what the general consensus was.

OP posts:
OnTheBoardwalk · 21/04/2026 22:12

No as I’m hosting many meetings most of the day

plims · 21/04/2026 22:13

Ketley67 · 21/04/2026 22:10

Well I have fistulating Crohn’s disease and my sphincter muscles are starting to become affected. My consultant thinks that 4-5 urgent bowel movements during work are reasonable. There’s no adjustments that can be made for me to accommodate this so I was just wondering what the general consensus was.

Show quote history

You should have put that in your OP. We have a history of poo trolls on here.

TheeNotoriousPIG · 21/04/2026 22:13

We don't really have a choice! We're farm workers, and unless you can't get out of bed/function/you've broken bones, you're in work, getting on with the job. The last person I know who had an upset stomach and vomiting got sent to self-isolate in a tractor, doing fieldwork... and every time they needed to vomit/poo, they had to hop out and do it in a field, because the work needed doing while the weather was fine. Other than that, we all have surprisingly good immune systems!

We are frequently without loos at our place, so sometimes you just have to go and hope that nobody sees you doing your business!

Happytaytos · 21/04/2026 22:15

Depends on the job surely.

I couldn't leave the classroom but wfh would be ok.

KeeleyJ · 21/04/2026 22:15

I work in Local Government, kind of surprised they don't have us sitting on commodes instead on computer chairs...

To answer your question, probably not as most of my day is spent speaking to people so rushing to the loo constantly wouldn't really work.

Fedupofthisgame · 21/04/2026 22:17

I had this the other day and the stomach pains were so bad I could not have worked at all. I am office based and work from home.

lazysundaymorning0 · 21/04/2026 22:19

Yes provided I didn’t feel unwell/have really bad cramps with it
I drew the line when I had campylobacter though as that was more 4-5 times an hour

hahabahbag · 21/04/2026 22:19

Wouldn’t be an issue for me as most the time I’m the only one in the building, once a week a do food service which would be an issue if there was a chance it was an infection of any description, Imodium is great stuff though