Unisex Toilets

[PanamaPattie]

My employer has emailed everyone that as from the 5th November, all the toilets in our building will become unisex.

I'm am very unhappy with this situation. How would you cope with this change if this happened in your workplace?

AIBU?

I'd hate it. I always try and avoid unisex toilets when I'm out. I'd have to say something if my employer did that, although they probably wouldn't take any notice.

We ended up putting signs on half the cubicles saying "women " and the other half "men"

This was circa 2000 so those labels were not considered potentially offensive.

At work I wouldn’t be overly impressed. Only because some of the men apparently still piss all over the seat and floor like a 5 year old. I’ve used them when out before and as long as they are kept clean it really wouldn’t bother me

Let the men complain.
I'd buy some chopped liver on the way to work, and drip it on the floor, sink, toilets.

See how long it takes for the men to get it stopped.

Why are you unhappy about it?

A bog is a bog. You go into the cubicle. Do what you need to do, then come out to wash your hands.

And men piss on the seats, and don't know how to flush

Ask them about their impact assessment, how it will affect staff from different backgrounds, and where the sanitary waste bins will be located.

Do not move to Sweden.

Our local secondary school has unisex toilets

I worked for an international software house. Nice educated middle-class men. One of my colleagues told me the gents was like the inside of a zoo - complete with shit up the walls and piss everywhere.

No thanks.

As someone who suffers incredibly heavy periods and spends one week out of every 4 using toilets at an alarmingly frequent rate, I'd have to admit to disliking this. I like privacy at that time (in fact, all the time tbh) and would really not appreciate men being in the same bathroom as me while I deal with that.

It's not transphobic to say that, I hope, just that I think privacy in bathrooms i incredibly important.

All of them? At my work some are unisex and some are still split. The unisex one is grim. It seems to allow the worst of both sexes! I still always use the ladies. Plus there is a box of women’s products which occasionally I have had to use (and later top back up) I wouldn’t feel comfortable rifling through if it was a men’s loo too.

It makes a big difference whether the loos are single fully secure cubicles with sink, like single disabled loos are, or if they are big room/standard rows of open cublicles with communal sinks. If it’s the latter, pretty sure that’s illegal in a workplace.

The toilets in my work have been unisex for as long as I’ve worked there. I’ve never really thought about it tbh.

I wouldn't like this either and would ask HR to reserve a number of toilets for single sex use.

You won't be the only woman who is uncomfortable. Many survivors of abuse or violence prefer single sex spaces, conservative Muslim, Christian or Jewish women often do, also women who flood, miscarry or have morning sickness, women who leak breastmilk and want to change their clothes in a space larger than a cupboard. And women who just want to perform their bodily functions and deal with periods away from men.

Many men will be uncomfortable too.

I work in an NHS trust - all staff toilets are nongendered. It isn't an issue.

If it’s the latter, pretty sure that’s illegal in a workplace.

^^ it isn't.

BTW - the men don't appear to leave drips and can flush - none of our Muslim women (or men) object, no one has ever managed to make the place awash with blood either.

In one of our offices we have old school toilets -big room, multiple cubicles with gaps at top and bottom, communal sinks. Other office in big city has posh individual rooms with sinks and fully enclosed, these are unisex, which is absolutely fine. I can’t imagine any circumstances in which the former would be acceptable to be unisex,

Frankly? The amount of shit that has been thrown at women this week for wanting to retain single sex spaces, I no longer give a flying whether this offends anyone anymore.

In Sweden it works fine, I have been in restaurants and workplaces and they were clean and I had no problem to use them.
The toilets in my workplace in a completely different comparison, the men's toilets are revolting even an hour after being cleaned..I would not like to share with them at all.
I think time takes a culture to change to these things.

Ideally I would prefer separate toilets but if I really needed the loo I wouldn't care too much. I've worked in a builders office with construction workers and builders and had to share one toilet with them....that was grim.
As for men peeing on seats etc....I'm sick of sitting on wet seats in women's public toilets and seeing discarded loo roll on the floor in the cubicles.

One the loos go unisex you will find that the men stop making such a mess
I think its great - twice as many cubicles for the women

I'd not like it either. A portion of our toilets are unisex and the women don't use them as the men don't shut the cubicles when weeing. No one wants to see that so we walk over and use the single sex ones instead.

HSE regulations, section 2 C
separate rooms containing conveniences are provided for men and women

www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/toilets.htm

Section 2c in full
separate rooms containing conveniences are provided for men and women except where and so far as each convenience is in a separate room the door of which is capable of being secured from inside.

C&P in its entirety instead of editing to suit.

My last two offices have been unisex. It's a complete non-issue. They are all separate rooms (not just cubicles) and all have their own sink, drier etc as well as a bin for sanpro. As someone who uses a mooncup, I far prefer this to having single-sex cubicles but having to wash my hands in a communal area. The toilets are all far cleaner than the ladies toilet in the office I was in before!

Just because no one has complained does not mean its a non issue.

And MacosieAsunter , announcing all the toilets will become unisex is not providing full cubicles. There should be an impact assessment.