Colleague getting annoyed with my toilet habits

[HoneyMonster12]

I travel around a lot with my job on a daily basis visiting several locations. I have a work partner and we often have to make 7/8 different calls in a day which can often be an hours drive initially and then 25/45 minutes in between visits.

I’m 25 weeks pregnant and I get so dehydrated if I don’t drink 2/3 litres of water a day, however, this means I am constantly needing the toilet so my colleague who is the one who does most of the driving is getting quite annoyed. It can’t be helped but I’m now in a position where I’m too worried to ask him to stop as it often means we have to pull over and look for a toilet on the sat nav

I’m not sure what I can do, if I speak to my employer there’s not much they can do, as they can’t monitor his behaviour 24/7 and equally I’ve still got 3 on the left of working with this man so I’d rather not rock the boat!!

OP, I don’t know what your job is but I’m surprised you think it’s unprofessional to ask to use the toilet in a client’s home. I imagine they’d be absolutely fine with it (especially as you’re pregnant) and this would solve the problem.

@mamoffrankie very well said!! I feel great sympathy for the OP as at the moment I often feel like I need to go to the bathroom as soon as I've just gone! I find it really hard to believe that none of the other pregnant women on this thread need to urinate more than they usually do... or perhaps they are not drinking enough themselves!

@Fatcow it is recommened to drink 2 and a half litres whilst pregnant. 3 litres in this heat.

Yes, on a whole day! I work in an environment where you go through many locked doors and gates to get to a toilet, so paced myself during the working day so it was manageable and got my full quota in. No problem. I'm that a grown woman can't ask to use a toilet when working and thinks its a better idea to ask her colleague to keep stopping to find one! Being pregnant doesn't mean you can just suit yourself and sod everyone else!

It IS unprofessional to ask to use people's bathrooms. We had years of many people being in our home daily (8+ people every day) and if they'd all asked to use the bathroom, it would have been awful. Obviously, if there's exceptional circumstances, then it's fine but otherwise, I'd expect healthy adults to have more control over their bladders.

@Truckingonandon are you for real?

People have bladders, they have control, but sometimes something's got to give. I mean I presume you never urinate anywhere other than your own house or public toilets then?

@fatcow i drink about 3 litres of water a day and pee every hour to hour and a half with a very big baby sat on my bladder for all we know OP is the same

Can you get your drinking done in bigger but less frequent drinks, so it's not a constant input of fluid trickling through to your bladder?

It would irritate me a bit if a colleague wouldn't use a toilet in a client's home but would expect me to frequently find public loos and wait around for them.

Yes, I'm being perfectly serious. We would have 8+ people in our house every day for years. Can you imagine if they all used the loo every single day? I'd need a second income to pay for extra loo roll. I did qualify what I said by adding that it's fine in an emergency but not routinely.

Our company tells us not to use toilets in people’s homes and to use communal or public toilets, as there was an instance in the past where a colleague of mine was accused of stealing as they were out of eyesight of the client. It turned out the item actually turned up but this rule was decided to avoid future things happening. Else I’d be using the toilets at every given opportunity!

And for a company who were very unhappy about me being pregnant in the first place, I’m not looking to piss anyone off by doing things they’ve told us not to do

"Can you get your drinking done in bigger but less frequent drinks"

Don't do this- this is terrible advice!!

Well, then I suppose you have two options.

The first is to look at the route for each day and find appropriate loo stops, which you then agree in advance with your colleague and your manager.

The second is that you come to an agreement with your company that you drive yourself until you go on maternity leave and arrive at clients' in two separate cars.

Don't do this- this is terrible advice!!

To be fair it wasn't advice, it was idle wondering. Why is it a bad thing to do, out of interest?

And for a company who were very unhappy about me being pregnant in the first place, I’m not looking to piss anyone off by doing things they’ve told us not to do

Sounds as though you need some employment law advice. That's dreadful.

Jonbb It was heading that way but I’ve figured it’s best to just see the last 3 months out as I know how conniving they can be. That way I’ll get my stat mat pay and be on my way and then not return after and start fresh

@shatnersbassoon it's always best to drink water constantly throughout the day rather than in big / less frequent intervals. This is because if you have a large intake if water at once, your body will expel most of it without using it so it will just pass through you without being used. So you might think you're drinking 2 litres but you would be receiving the same benefit of 2 litres as you would if you drank little and often- frequently throughout the day, which would maximise water efficiency (although yes it means more frequent toilet breaks).

Incidentally, this is also why in survival situations if you are short of water you need to ration it and take little sips frequently rather than gulps less often. A very different scenario of course... but the same sort of bodily function!

I think I would be annoyed if I was being put out by having to stop frequently and this was extending our journeys. I don’t know if you’ve said how often you are stopping. You probably don’t need 2-3 litres but if you do then drink more when you get home / through the night and just sip water through the day. Thats what I would do if I was travelling in the car or lot even if I wasn’t pregnant. That’s my opinion.

As others have said if you do need to stop very frequently then you should speak to your employer about reasonable adjustments and what else can be done - your own car or more office based work or shorter journeys.

You should be able to drink whatever you want but it’s not fair that if affects your colleague.

@NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking I am only 21 weeks and my bladder constantly feels like I need to wee.

I don't think you should judge pregnancies as a whole, based solely on your own.

If this were a medical condition that affected men, like incontinence or diarrhoea, 100% of people would be saying op needs reasonable adjustments by the company/colleague, or needs to be signed off work.

So true!!

@Pluckedpencil yup. The Equality Act even days reasonable adjustments must be made and reviewed for pregnant women.

So, either the company ditches the no peeing at a client's place, take her off travel duty, or schedule in time for extra loo breaks OR they're legally in the wrong.