As many teams transition back to the office, now is a perfect time to rethink the intersection of human biology and work
Talk frankly to some office workers, and at least one of them will likely be pretty protective of their leisurely – and sometimes lengthy – bathroom breaks. After all, as the old saying goes: “Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime ― that’s why I poop on company time.”
Managers have never been thrilled about this, naturally, and have even made attempts to make the bathroom break more unpleasant. A couple years ago, the StandardToilet hit the market – it was a toilet that was angled 13 degrees forward, adding strain to your legs and (hypothetically) limiting the bathroom break to about five minutes, before your legs start cramping. Its inventor claimed that extended bathroom breaks cost the UK economy “£4 billion per annum.”
“The fight to clampdown on toilet time has begun, it seems,” reads a Wired article about the anti-loitering latrine. “But, is policing your pooing a step too far?”
Experts say yes, it probably is the case that targeting an employee’s bathroom breaks in an effort to boost productivity is the wrong approach.
“A steady stream of news articles suggests that employers around the world are indeed clamping down on toilet breaks in a bid to improve productivity,” writes Madeleine Gabriel, head of inclusive innovation at Nesta. “Instead of trying to optimize every minute of their workforce’s time, employers might be better off improving working life.”
Two management researchers, Michael Matthews and Dr. Thomas Kelemen, surveyed hundreds of workers about their “bio breaks” recently.
“Our data reveals that many people are comfortable with their bodies at work,” the pair wrote. “However, some engage in worrying behavior: dehydrating themselves, leaving work to use a restroom at home and mentally scheduling how often they use the facilities. Others used toilets that were not proximally close to their workspace to avoid being seen by coworkers. Indeed, there are a whole array of reasons that people feel uncomfortable.”
They argue that – within some reason – employers should give up the fight and build in bathroom break time into their expectations of employees.
“Establish an environment in which everyone is conscientious of others. As a leader, set the standard and avoid having work-related conversations in the bathroom. Even if some employees are completely fine with conversations in the restroom, some are not. Rely on social cues to ensure employees feel respected.”
Content written by Kieran Delamont for Worklife, a partnership between Ahria Consulting and London Inc. To view this content in newsletter form, click here.