# Workplace Bathroom Etiquette **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327 "2008-11-18T18:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mauxlicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@mauxlicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mauxlicious)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/1 "2008-11-18T18:53:23Z")
Preface: Do not read while eating your lunch. So here’s the scenario. While there are several bathrooms at my workplace, the most convenient mensroom is about 20 yards from my desk. It’s fairly small with one stall and one open urinal. The door does not lock from the inside, so if you are intending on using the stall to take care of some serious business (hey, everybody poops) there is the chance that someone else will come in to use the urinal while you are seated in the stall. I am fairly “regular” and poop at least 2-3 times a day so it’s inconceivably uncomfortable and inconvenient to wait until I get home. What is the most polite tack to take if you are mid-poop and someone comes in to use the urinal? Do you keep letting it fly as it were? Do you wait and hold it until said person vacates? I mean I was there first, right? It is a bathroom and that’s where you do those kind of things. Since the bathroom and workplace are relatively small, I am not sure if I want to be “that guy” who’s always blowing up the lav. What do you guys think? And are the rules different for women? ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/2 "2008-11-18T18:57:09Z")
Unless you are shy about letting the other person hear you, you just keep on keeping on. If someone is offended by bathroom sounds in the bathroom, it’s his problem. Isn’t pooping at least 2-3 times a day so regular that it’s irregular? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/3 "2008-11-18T18:57:57Z")
Eh, it’s a bathroom. People poop in there. I don’t worry about it much. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/4 "2008-11-18T19:00:07Z")
It is a bathroom. That’s where you do those things. If the guy who comes in to use the urinal doesn’t want to be there while you’re pooping, he can wait until you come out. I don’t get why people would worry about it. That’s what bathrooms are for, that’s what you do there, and everybody does it. I guess I’ve lived in too many places with just one bathroom. I’ve just never worried about the traffic. ---
**Author:** ![mauxlicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@mauxlicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mauxlicious)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/5 "2008-11-18T19:04:41Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Isn’t pooping at least 2-3 times a day so regular that it’s irregular? It’s definitely on the high end of production but still within medical tolerances. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/6 "2008-11-18T19:05:05Z")
Once, when I was young, I was attending to my _business_ in the stall of a public restroom when came upon me a tremendous rolling thunder of a fart. Knowing from the sounds around me that I was not alone in that bathroom, I said just loud enough to be heard, “Excuse me!” The other person in the facility replied, kindly, “Son, if you can’t do that in here, where can you?” ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/7 "2008-11-18T19:19:13Z")
> [@mauxlicious](#): > > What is the most polite tack to take if you are mid-poop and someone comes in to use the urinal? I pinch for no man. ---
**Author:** ![rainwalker78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rainwalker78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainwalker78)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/8 "2008-11-18T21:00:19Z")
It’s the bethroom and you were there first. Poop in peace. > [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Isn’t pooping at least 2-3 times a day so regular that it’s irregular? My Doctor told me that the normal range is from once every 3 days to 3 times each day. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/9 "2008-11-18T21:34:33Z")
Courtesy flushing would be advisable. ---
**Author:** ![Dazzling\_White\_Diamonds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/41988e/32.png) [@Dazzling\_White\_Diamonds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dazzling_White_Diamonds)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/10 "2008-11-18T22:24:50Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Courtesy flushing would be advisable. Not with the toilets we have here at work! We have the Super Flush-O-Matic Nine Thousand with the built-in PooBidet™. The mere thought of doing a courtesy flush on that monstrosity makes my skin crawl. ---
**Author:** ![Libre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@Libre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Libre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/11 "2008-11-19T00:20:57Z")
There are no etiquette rules for this; the guide is whatever you are comfortable with. This said, regarding the urinal user, while it is ok that you are concerned with their restroom experience; your first priority is in taking care of your own business. You are in a restroom. If others are not comfortable with sounds of someone taking a crap, that is their issue - not yours. As an aside, I am always impressed with the guy who can let loose like no-one can hear. It takes a degree of self-assuredness to do that. I assume the rules are the same for women, at least in western culture. HMMV. Wordweb defines \*\*assuredness \*\*as: “Great coolness and composure under strain.” ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/12 "2008-11-19T03:24:52Z")
Hang a sock on the door… ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/13 "2008-11-19T03:31:53Z")
If the toilet has a stall and door, this is a non-issue. I could see if it were a non-stall toilet and a urinal, like some small restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/14 "2008-11-19T04:05:19Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I pinch for no man. Brilliant, especially in my head where it was said like in a resonating restroom stall. ---
**Author:** ![Libre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@Libre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Libre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/15 "2008-11-19T04:11:20Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > If the toilet has a stall and door, this is a non-issue. I could see if it were a non-stall toilet and a urinal, like some small restaurants. :eek: In which case, there should be a lock on the door! I guess prisons and concentration camps would be the exceptions. Not sure about other parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/16 "2008-11-19T04:14:53Z")
I hate pooping at work. The bathroom is like walking into one of those anechoic chambers where hearing tests are conducted. It’s so quiet I swear I can hear the guy in the stall next to me breathing. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/17 "2008-11-19T05:08:59Z")
> [@Libre](#): > > There are no etiquette rules for this; the guide is whatever you are comfortable with. This said, regarding the urinal user, while it is ok that you are concerned with their restroom experience; your first priority is in taking care of your own business. I endorse this wisdom for the multi-bathroom configuration described by the OP. However, consider a much smaller working environment with fewer employees and only one or two toilet facilities _in situ_. The office is open plan and each worker can see all his colleagues. The manager has his own room from where he can observe his underlings. You visit the bathroom and ensconce yourself on the seat in the stall, preparatory to discharging a bowel movement of seismic proportions. The door to the room opens and someone assumes the position at the urinal. _ **It could be your boss.** _ Furthermore, he may know it’s you in the stall because he has passed your desk _en route_ to the bathroom and observed your absence therefrom. Just then, an audible eruption, vaguely troubling the Richter scale at the lower end, pierces the quiet of your stall. This is quickly followed by the all too familiar sound of a large object striking shallow water at speed. Several months later, you apply for a promotion at work. It’s between you and one other person. On abilities, aptitude, interpersonal skills etc., it’s a photo finish. Your boss can’t split the two of you. Except he can, and he does. He rules against you because of that day in the stall, after which momentously calamitous professional _faux pas_ on your part, he can only ever associate you with the sound of waters being parted by a formidably prodigious turd of truly epic proportions. If only you had played it safe and waited, your career wouldn’t lie in the tatters it lies in now. Go for the low-risk option. You know it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/18 "2008-11-19T05:22:30Z")
\*\*Chez Guevara \*\* - that post made my night. _“formidably prodigious turd of truly epic proportions”_ - Wow! That sounds spectacular. I needed a good laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Libre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@Libre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Libre)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/19 "2008-11-19T05:44:25Z")
> [@Chez\_Guevara](#): > > I endorse this wisdom for the multi-bathroom configuration described by the OP. > > However, consider a much smaller working environment with fewer employees and only one or two toilet facilities _in situ_. The office is open plan and each worker can see all his colleagues. The manager has his own room from where he can observe his underlings. > > You visit the bathroom and ensconce yourself on the seat in the stall, preparatory to discharging a bowel movement of seismic proportions. The door to the room opens and someone assumes the position at the urinal. _ **It could be your boss.** _ Furthermore, he may know it’s you in the stall because he has passed your desk _en route_ to the bathroom and observed your absence therefrom. Just then, an audible eruption, vaguely troubling the Richter scale at the lower end, pierces the quiet of your stall. This is quickly followed by the all too familiar sound of a large object striking shallow water at speed. > > Several months later, you apply for a promotion at work. It’s between you and one other person. On abilities, aptitude, interpersonal skills etc., it’s a photo finish. Your boss can’t split the two of you. > > Except he can, and he does. He rules against you because of that day in the stall, after which momentously calamitous professional _faux pas_ on your part, he can only ever associate you with the sound of waters being parted by a formidably prodigious turd of truly epic proportions. If only you had played it safe and waited, your career wouldn’t lie in the tatters it lies in now. > > Go for the low-risk option. You know it makes sense. Ha haa! Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Leah\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@Leah\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leah_M)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327/20 "2008-11-19T06:40:24Z")
Thank goodness we aren’t allowed to have drinks at our terminals in the lab. Mine would have just gotten sprayed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-bathroom-etiquette/473327.md?page=2)