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It's a delicate issue, but one that must be addressed: etiquette in the company restroom.
A friend of mine had a coworker who would duck into the bathroom to find her, even passing files under the stall door. Friend did not like this very much. (For one thing, where is she going to put them? Ew.)
Here are some do’s and don’ts.
Don’t… Conduct business. Let your coworkers do their thing in peace. In fact, don’t chit-chat, period, while in the restroom. Some people (and by that I mean me) get weirded out about talking to people while going. It can’t wait ten seconds? (Exception: if you’re both at the sink, a “weather’s been nice, huh?” conversation is fine. If someone is behind a stall door, consider them out-of-bounds.)
Do… Tidy up. No one wants to navigate around your mess. Yes, there are usually janitors, but a.) it’s rude to make them pick up your stinky tp, and b.) until they come in, your office mates are forced to use a bathroom that is filthy. Throw away your trash, wipe up excess water on the countertops, and for God’s sake—no sprinkles on the seats.
Do…Flush. And check to make sure everything went down. This should go without saying. Operative word: should.
Don’t…Take your time. If people are waiting, please hurry, particularly in situations where the toilet and sink are in one room. I’m not sure why, but women disappear into single bathrooms and it’s like they step into a time warp. What are they doing in there? As a fellow woman, I don’t see any reason why it should take more than a minute or so, tops. If you have to freshen up your lipstick, do so discreetly in the hallway if women are doing the pee-pee dance outside. This is not the time to change your hairstyle, examine your pores for pimples, reassess your outfit choice for the day, etc. P.S. Even if no one is waiting when you go in there? Chances are a line is forming outside. So step on it.
Do…Cover up your stink. Bring in an air deodorizer to keep in the bathroom, and spray liberally.
Do…Treat it better than your bathroom at home. Perhaps you don’t mind your own mess, have no issues with going unflushed, fling water around the room like you’re having a personal water fight, but in an office environment, be respectful. Keep the place nice for others, if not yourself.
The copyright of the article Office Bathroom Etiquette in Workplace Culture is owned by Melissa Dylan. Permission to republish Office Bathroom Etiquette in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Jan 26, 2007 10:57 AM
rose :
We recently moved offices. At our old office, we had one women's restroom
for the whole floor, which included once office with very, very smelly
women.
Thankfully, we just moved. We now have our own floor, and
one women's restroom that's just for us. Fantastic!
Or is it?
Before, if something smelled, or was messy, or someone was in
there long enough to go swimming, it was easy to blame on the three other
offices on the floor. Nameless, faceless women peed on the seat, forgot to
flush, or made even the hall smell like moist dog food.
But now,
we know. If something, anything happens in there, it's one of us. When
everyone is in the office, there are five women, total. So, we know the
game. We know who is playing. We know who caused the smell.
This
has led Zest Girl to start using the bathroom on the second floor. I feel
bad for them.
Jan 29, 2007 11:34 AM
Melissa Dylan :
Ah, yes. It's delicate stuff. Be grateful you don't have a unisex bathroom.
Boys are gross. GROSS, I tell you.
Feb 8, 2007 3:04 PM
rose :
OH, man, I totally agree. I share a bathroom with a guy at home, and, let
me tell you, it is SO NICE to not have to worry about a wet toilet seat.
Mar 24, 2007 9:53 PM
Megan McConnell :
We share a very nasty bathroom with a Korean student service. Now, the
bathroom is very old and not nice to start with, but the girls from the
Korean company are all Koreans, and we've discovered that their bathroom
habits are very different from what is the "norm" for
Australians.
Unfortunately, nothing that we do seems to get them
to change their habits - from eating lunch in there (yes!) to stuffing the
sanitary disposals full of used toilet paper (and the cost of changig the
bins twice a week, instead of once is now being passed onto us).
It's equally unfortunate that we can't claim that we're mistaken, as the
ladies from the rest of the floor have all caught them at it several
times.
At least our problem is less bad than the men, who find
urinals not flushed, as well as some other gross-out things.
I've discovered that the hardest thing about multi-culturalism is the
differnt bathroom habits!!!
Apr 1, 2007 4:56 PM
Melissa Dylan :
While that does seem strange to us (eating in the bathroom? ew!) at least
the toilet paper thing can be solved by putting a few extra bins in each
bathroom stall. If I grew up in a world where flushing paper meant a living
room full of sewage, I'd be hard-pressed to change my ways, too!
Jun 5, 2007 2:22 PM
Marilyn Burton :
I'm trying to tactfully let a socially ignorant (male) employee I supervise
know that it's not OK to leave the toilet seat up at work, in a unisex
bathroom. A open list of department problems with it written on the list
didn't seem to do the trick.
Any etiquette articles or books on
this? I can't discuss and open the floodgate of "sexist" issues
with him.
Any references would be helpful!
Thanks
Aug 3, 2007 4:51 PM
Melissa Dylan :
Unfortunately, some men will successfully argue that it's sexist for men to
have to put the seat down; why not women putting the seat up? This might be
what you mean by "opening the floodgate of sexist issues."
Chances are, however, it's not a matter of sexism--he probably simply
forgets. If he doesn't live with females (or lives with tolerant women) he
isn't in the habit of putting the seat down, and a departmental memo that
he reads nowhere near the restroom isn't going to help.
You can always
go the route of taping a sign to the bathroom door reading "Did you
put the seat down?" Annoying, but harder to ignore. And works along
the lines of signs reminding employees to wash their hands before handling
food (which ick me out in and of themselves, because if employees need
signs reminding them not to handle food after using the bathroom, what else
might they forget? But that's another matter entirely).
However, you
did ask for references or books on the matter. I've not read it, but heard
good things about this book: The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized
Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't.
Good luck!
P.S. PLEASE stop sending out memos that passive-agressively target one
individual, because it irritates the 99% of employees you are not referring
to, and the person you ARE trying to reach doesn't realize it is them.
Aug 22, 2008 11:19 AM
Guest
:
Hi Melissa,
We've recently (ok not so recent since this now goes back
about a year) begun experiencing "unsanitary" bathroom issues in
our office washroom; specifically in the women's washrooms. It doesn't
seem to be getting any better despite several emails to the women in the
office reminding them of courtesy to other employees. I am now in the
process of making up signs for each stall to remind them of bathroom
etiquette. I also would like to know if I can reprint/email your Office
Bathroom Eqtiqutte article.
Signed,
Frustrated and
Disgusted!
Aug 31, 2008 10:00 PM
Guest
:
Bill,
How about spring loaded toilet seats for coeducational
restrooms? When you get up, the seat goes up. It keeps men from wetting
the seat. I know these seats exist because I've seen them in a few places.
Would they help?
Sep 9, 2008 6:39 AM
Guest
:
Do...Wrap and properly dispose of femine hygene products! It is one of the
most discusting things that seem to be occurring in the office I work
in.The sad thing is there are very few of us women, so it is obvious who it
is with thsi nasty habit.
Sep 13, 2008 3:53 PM
Guest
:
Spring-loaded seats sounds like a bad idea because those who want the seat
down are going to have to touch it and pull it down before sitting.
Sep 14, 2008 4:58 AM
Guest
:
The worst is when a co-worker has her monthly bill and forgets to flush the
toilet or gribbles all over the seat.
12 Comments
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