Is it seen to BU to go to the toilet at work?

[KittySocks]

Posting here for traffic. In the office this morning, there were 2 members of my team having a moan. Essentially, someone had gone to the toilet and had sprayed some of the provided air freshener. Staff member moans that the staff member in question should have waited until they got home before they "stink out the work toilets".

Staff members in question are mid 20s. It started a stupid debate in the office and basically, the older generation see no issue with going to the toilets at work. Younger generation claim they would be mortified and state they would not poop at work!

Is it a generational thing then? I'm of the mindset, if you have to go, you have to go!

YABU - Get a grip - poop away
YANBU - Gross! Hold it in until you get home!

"If you have a medical issue then it’s different and can’t be helped, but surely most adults don’t poo at work! It smacks of laziness to me - couldn’t be arsed to get up a few minutes earlier to go before work. "

What? We can't go on demand like dogs.

So people with socially- shamed disabilities like Crohn’s must announce it to you and the rest of office on starting a job in your office? Is there a chart where the bowel-impaired can put their names so no one tut tuts? If someone has a sudden onset bug involving the runs, do they get a temporary place on the chart of shame? Ditto pregnancy related bowel changed? So many questions.

They interpreted your post perfectly.

Many people can't poo to a timetable or on demand.

How bloody ridiculous.

If you need a shit, you need a shit. Toilets in the office are provided for people to do it. The alternative is shitting on your chair is it?

Many people can't poo to a timetable or on demand.

Yep, sometimes the urge arrives a bit later on. As I said, you can't expect people to wait at home till the evacuation decides to take place at 11am so that Miss Prissyknickers doesn't get her nostrils offended.

And what if you do have an upset stomach? Are you meant loudly announce it so that you get a shitting pass? Maybe do a mass email?

No, I think mainly it’s because what you’re saying is batshit !! If you need to go, you need to go. Why would you think people wait until ‘they’re about to explode’ ?!! Not everyone goes at the same time of day. We all do it. It all smells. That’s what toilets are provided for, so what’s the actual problem ?

This really. 😑

I have heard people at my work make comments about never doing a poo at work, which I really don’t understand!
But I have IBS. I’ve had mornings where I’ve had a bad stomach and I’ve had to go 4 times in an hour. Really not an option for some people to hold it.. and for goodness sake, it’s a toilet!

I have a bowel disorder and if I didn't go at work, I'd be dead! Honestly this is such a bizarre attitude to think that adults (whether or not they have a medical condition) shouldn't be "allowed" to use the facilities while at work. What on earth are they there for, then?

I used to work with a woman who drove home in her lunch break (15 minutes drive each way) to use the loo because she was worried someone in another cubicle would hear her 'going.' I thought it was downright bizarre.

That's why I liked the loos in my old workplace. They were single occupancy floor-to-ceiling like you'd have in your home. It can be awkward for everyone in a room with stalls. But everyone poos. My only work problem with this was with the man who would disappear into the toilet for 35 minutes after lunch every single day. Like what do they do?

What happens if you get up in the morning and can't poo? Just call in late until you can? Or maybe just go to work and use the functioning toilet?

I rarely poo at work as my body has kind of trained itself, but when I want to go I dare anyone to even try to shame me for it and I would also firmly challenge anyone who commented on another person having a shit in a toilet designed for shitting in! It is spectacularly immature.

Yep. This. Some of the prissy posters on here would change their perspective in a heartbeat if they had to put up with IBS or Crohns for even a few hours !! It’s pathetic.

I was taught that it was the polite thing NOT to poo in a public loo unless got caught short and had to - which I expect is a hangover from my Victorian grandmother who had opinions on most things. She also thought that it was very important open your bowels regularly, ideally in the morning (which for most people, negates the need to go when you're at work)

I’m a don’t-and-can’t but REALLY ENVY those who can! My life would be so much easier if I could poop anywhere. I struggle on holiday sometimes too!

So, 11 pages later, but my opinion is: poop away, lucky freedom poopers!

Are you on glue? Genuine question, because what you've written, is totally batshit

I have Crohn’s disease, often just “not” going and holding it in is not a luxury I have. I hate it, I hate having to go in public toilets or at work but it’s less embarrassing than shitting myself.

It's not good for you to hold it in; it leads to constipation and increases the amount of time toxins that should be expelled are in contact with the body. When I need to go at work, I flush as soon as I can with the lid shut and I put paper in first so it doesn't splash 🙃.

I've heard this loads at my workplace too and it's actually mostly women aged 50+ who work there and start and engage with these discussions.

Personally, I'm a shy shitter anyway so I can't shit at work. The only exceptions occur if I've got somewhat of an upset stomach and I find it extra mortifying if this happens knowing people will then moan and talk about it if I do end up in a desperate situation like that! It's not pleasant to enter a stinky toilet but it's a bodily function and lots of people, particularly women who are older and/or have had multiple vaginal births, can't necessarily just hold it in til they go home. I think it's horrible that people complain about it loudly in a workplace tbh, totally lacking in empathy.

Do people really need to poo every 8 hours?
My bowels must be really slow or something 😄

I wouldn’t poo at work unless I was literally going to shit my pants but I couldn’t care less if someone else does as long as it’s not left in a state. I mean it’s a bit grim going in after someone else has stunk the place out hence why I try and keep it at home where possible.

I didn't take a job once because the toilet was in the middle of the open plane office, not down a corridor like in most offices (it was a mews house converted to an office so everything was open plan and the staircase was in the middle of the room).

I always had to go in the morning, so it would have been embarassing.

I feel very lucky that my bowels never insist I go. I have some sort of mental thing whereby I’ve never once even thought about it at work.

I’d assume that most people that shit at work or in a public loo do so because they’re desperate. Not many could actually want to do it there. It is embarrassing to leave a stink, even if you had no choice.

Where i used to work, everyone used the loo for disabled people for poos because it was a separate room and gave you a bit of privacy. It wasn't very nice for the handful of people who used wheelchairs, but you can hardly blame people for not wanting the whole floor to know when you've taken a dump at work.

As someone with slight IBS, there's no way I could wait until I got home. Where I volunteer, there's only one loo and I end up go out and finding a public loo if I need a poo, because otherwise it would be horrible for everyone else.

I voted the wrong way around. yabu to make the yabu mean theyabu and the yanbu to mean you are 😶
They are being ableist, ageist, and ridiculous.
If the only people employed were those who don't need to poo in the daytime that would become very obvious.
Shaming people who need to go during the day actually needs to be addressed by the company/HR to avoid them creating a toxic bullying workplace for their colleagues.
Toilets are provided for toileting in. It is literally what they are for.

’V I Poo’ spray is a game changer.
It really covers up the smell (and smells nice too)
I always have some in my bag at work. When you gotta go, you gotta go!

I work 8.30-5.30. TF else am I meant to do? Biology does not work like that. I'd be really sick and have problems if I held it in all day. I'm 24 FYI. It sucks when toilets aren't ventilated though.