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!

Brilliant, I may need to copy your actions 😂

😂😂😂😂. Legend. ♥️

This is so silly. If you have to go you have to go. As long as people are cleaning up after themselves what’s the problem? I have a bowel disorder and work 11 hour shifts, no way could I wait.

What if this person has IBS, colitis etc. Shouldnt be judging people who lives may be in a difficult place

I couldn't go outside of the house when I was a teenager/young adult - could barely manage to wee in public toilets - but I developed IBS in my mid-20s, so for about 15 years I haven't had a choice: when I need to go, I need to go.

Honestly, when you're in the situation where you have to plan every outing to know where the nearest toilet is (and subsequently don't go on long days out where there isn't easy access), it makes worrying about needing to poo in a non-home-based toilet a trivial matter. 😕

I’m always overjoyed to poo at work and be paid to have a shit! It’s a small pleasure in a manic day and often the closest I get to a break 😂

Poop, and pee, for that matter, contain the toxins that your body is trying to rid itself of. By all means, retain those toxins if you must, but I'm of the "better out than in" persuasion. Don't want that stuff sitting about fermenting inside me any longer than necessary. That whole "I'll wait until I get home" seems like refusing to take the kitchen trash outside until you see the collectors driving down the street to your house, to me.

Blimey. I can not wait if I need to. Home, work, supermarket, mall. I have ibs and possible a dysfunctional holding muscle ability. I always take a body spray with me into the loo as often there nothing to spray. I also make sure I clean the loo properly as well. That’s my biggest bugbear more than the smell. People who leave skid marks all over the toilet and bits of poo still not flushed away. I will wait til o can make a second flush if I need to. Also if I know it’s going to smell I might even flush before I wipe just to get it gone and then flush again after wiping. lol.

what’s worse is being a teacher and not being able to leave a class of 30 kids unattended to go. Generally I’ve been and done before the kids arrive but on occasions over the years I’ve had to send a note to a next door class to ask a staff member to come for 5 minutes so I can dash. Me yes, I can be in and out and done in 5 minutes. None of this sitting ms reading a book malarkey.

I suffer with Ulcerative Colitis.

So if I need to go I need to go. It’s not practical, possible nor healthy for people like me to ‘hold it in’ for hours.

@DuesToTheDirt depends on the work. We can obviously go on a break or on lunch but after that it's meant to be no more than 10 mins away from our desk in 9hrs

So if I know I need more toilet breaks I will message my manager and usually say I'm having an endo flare and then it doesn't go against me that I'm using more toilet/getting a drink time

Exactly. That's the bit I don't understand - why would you want to retain faeces in your body?

Especially as usually on MN so many posters are obsessive about germs and cleaning

I think I’d complain to HR if colleagues were making nasty comments about me using the appropriate facilities for a normal and necessary bodily function.

Is a curtesy flush not a thing anymore??

@celticprincess I wouldn’t take a job whereby I couldn’t have easy access to a toilet. I don’t have any medical problems but I hate not being able to go when needed. I’m always nervous before a road trip as well, and always carry Imodium (loperamide) with me just in case.

I always carry vipoo or poo pourri spray in my bag. It kills any smells dead!
I actually hate going to the toilet outside of my house, until recently when I had a health condition that played havoc with my bowels.
I think we need to change the stigma around this!

Sadly, vipoo is powerless against active Crohn's.

You just end up with lemon scented acridity.

It's bad manners to do it if it can be avoided and the toilets are in close proximity to others. I'm not talking about people who are in desperate need in the moment or have a bowel condition. I've had to go myself in an emergency. I mean people who are oblivious. In a past workplace we had a small staff room that had a toilet in it. A woman every lunchtime without fail would go for a poo in there and you could hear and smell it. Not fair to the other colleagues sitting eating their sandwiches on the other side of the door. There were other toilets available.

I'm fairness that's a workplace issue, where they have positioned the restroom incorrectly!

You can't blame people for carrying out an equally normal bodily donation of a poo, just as important as eating.

It's a toilet.

There's no resting going on in there!

@AllyCart I was referring to the PP saying that people were eating their sandwiches in the room next door. Meaning the employer should move their rest room

Another Crohn’s sufferer here and no, I am not able to ‘hold it in’ until I get home. I assume the anti pooing at work brigade are also anti shitting yourself at work, because for many people that is the only other option!

I agree that toilet was in the wrong place but there were several other toilets available on the same floor, that offered privacy. I feel like it's common courtesy to not do that where people are eating and taking their breaks.

@Chellybelle well use of others were available, that would've been better to
use them.

Ah! Apologies, I wondered which 'restroom' you were referring to.

😂

@CagneyAndLazy I realised after that restroom often meant toilet 🤦‍♀️