Puking colleague

[MyrandaRoyce]

One of my colleagues routinely throws up in the ladies toilets and doesn’t clean up properly after herself. When I say routinely, it’s on a daily basis, sometimes more than once.
I had to use the loo straight after her today and the smell almost made me throw up myself

I feel sorry for her, I don’t know if she is pregnant or has bulimia or some other health condition, but honestly it’s so gross. Stuff in the toilet bowl, the smell (we have air fresheners and cleaning stuff visible in the bathroom but she doesn’t use them), yuck yuck yuck.
It’s a small office with just the one bathroom so I’ve worked out who it is by a process of elimination.

AIBU to have a quiet word with the Office Manager and ask for a sign or something to be put up. Or should I put a sign up myself?

I don’t want to be known as the dickhead that complained about someone with morning sickness or an eating disorder but is it unreasonable to think whatever you do in the toilet, you shouldn’t leave it for the next unfortunate person to find?

She is beingba dickhead doing what she’s doing. Put up a sign and if no joy have a word with Office Manager. Hate it when ppl leave it for others to clean up their shit (or vomit, in this case)

I would definitely mention it to a manager.

I don't think that would be unreasonable at all.
As long as you are 100% sure you know who it is

Attention seeking.

She wants someone to fawn over and ask if she's poorly. Otherwise she'd just clean it up.

I agree she’s the one being a dickhead. If she doesn’t want to be called it then she shouldn’t be leaving the toilet in a filthy state!

There is absolutely no excuse for this, she maybe cannot help the puking but she can 100% help how she cleans up after herself that is absolutely vile. I would just tell her directly but if you don't feel you can do this then go via office manager/HR. It is actually a public health issue, you could become ill very easily from her puke.

People with bulimia would do anything and everything to cover their tracks in most circs so don’t think it would be that. I’d mention to a manager.

But I probably wouldn’t name names, a generic sign should be enough .

I would speak to the office manager.

I'd tread carefully. None of your business really apart from the loos being unpleasant.

Do you have water saving loos?

You have to flush those a few times to get rid of puke it might be that she hasn’t realised

Generic sign. No need to mention who it is unless it keeps happening. How often are you using the loos to have actually been able to figure out who it is? Not relevant, just surprised.

Speak to OM.
Generic sign on door/s to start with (we have a big one on one of the the loos downstairs stating its a female toilet only as the men don't seem to get this in spite of there being two other loos for their own usage)
Just along the lines of 'Please leave the toilets in a condition in which you would expect to use them. Cleaning products are readily available'

If this doesn't work, an email 'reminder' needs sending out as well.

Buy a 'Please leave this toilet clean for the next user' sign for a couple of quid from Wilko and stick it in there.

Maybe she doesn't realise the smell of puke lingers, or perhaps she feels so unwell, she can't bring herself to wipe away the evidence, flush a few times and spray the air freshener.

When I worked in a large office block we used to get generic emails asking the ladies to please put their empty vodka bottles in the recycling container in the carpark and not the used sanitary towel bins, because the company that supplied the bins found it objectionable to have to fish out glassware, instead of incinerating the entire contents.

Never did find out who the secret drinker was.

I’d be very surprised if she had bulimia as PP said, most people would go out of their way to hide it.

No excusing leaving a mess but I wonder if it’s morning sickness and the person is feeling too unwell to deal with it? If that’s the case they shouldn’t be working.

She’s vile - if I threw up at work I’d be mortified and would attempt to tidy up any excess.

The fact that she’s constantly doing this and leaving it in such a state shows her complete disregard. It’s hard to have sympathy about her being ill when she does this every day and hopes someone else cleans up!

I don’t think a general email would suffice as it’s not a one off - it’s a small company, a regular occurrence, and you know exactly who keeps doing it. Management needs to have a word to check she’s okay/fit for work, if they can help with anything and to mention the way the bathroom has been left and where the cleaning products are located.

Thanks everyone!

I think a quiet word to the Office Manager is the way to go, I’ll just say that the toilets have been grim recently and a sign would be appreciated.

NeedsASockAmnesty - actually we’ve had the bathrooms refurbished recently so possible they put in water saving loos. But I don’t know how she could avoid seeing what she leaves behind, unless she bolts out with her eyes closed.

RestingGrinchFace Haha, I know - it does sound a bit weird.
At my company each department is on its own floor with 1 ladies & 1 gents toilet. You can’t access other floors (security cards only give access to your floor plus the reception), there are only a handful of women in my department and on numerous occasions we’ve been the only two women or only two people working in the department on a particular afternoon. Also, I’ve crossed paths with her on my way to the loo before.

If she’s fit enough to come into work and stay after she’s been sick, she’s fit enough to clean up after herself

How long as this been going on?

Could she be pregnant?

Could she have had bariatric surgery but she now overeats?

I would have to say something to someone, too. Saying that as someone who had terrible m-sickness but I never left lots of mess daily.

Her bathroom at home must be delightful

*Attention seeking.

She wants someone to fawn over and ask if she's poorly. Otherwise she'd just clean it up.*

I didn't think we'd reach the most batshit response this thread could garner so soon.

Or she could have a serious mental health problem, I.e an eating disorder. Some people on this thread are being really insensitive. Maybe she needs some kindness and not so much judgement

I can understand how gross that must be for you. I have hyperemesis and I've been signed off work for the last 6ish weeks now - there are times when I'm violently vomiting so much that I can't even stand for a second longer nevermind go about cleaning up the toilet/sink etc to make sure it's all appropriate, but if that is the case for this lady she should absolutely not be at work . I think you should deffo speak to manager but I'd probably do it more from a welfare angle for the person concerned tbh, this is not healthy, normal behaviour. But definitely raise your concerns about the hygiene in the toilets too as I can imagine that would be super unpleasant. I have family members urging me to go back to work, I work in an open-plan office and vomit many times a day, I'm absolutely not fit to return at present but if I somehow forced myself there, imagine how disgusting that would be for my colleagues (as there's no way I would be able to get to the toilets on time so would be literally puking in the bins either side of them)!!

Poor woman must feel rotten vomiting so frequently - but even so, she should try harder to clean up, it's only fair on others.

Unfortunately it has reminded me of an email circulated at a large firm I worked for years ago, which said:

"Please could all users of the west side 3rd floor ladies toilets avoid defecating into a sanitary bag and placing it in the waste bin, but use the lavatory for the purpose it is intended. Clearing up faeces is most unpleasant for the cleaning staff."

Who poos in a bag?