Woman refuses to continue cleaning up after her male coworkers' bathroom messes, internet empowers her to teach them a lesson: ‘It's not my job’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Apr 27, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Misogyny exists in every part of a woman's life, but especially in the office. Whether it shows up in suggestive "raises" or not inviting you out to the office hockey game because girls "don't like that stuff", it's important to nip these behaviors in the bud. If we let them fester, the situation will escalate, and you'll end up feeling worse than when you started receiving this mistreatment.

It shouldn't be up to women to constantly fight the good fight against everyday discriminatory behavior, but at the end of the day, we ladies have to protect ourselves. The woman in this next story is seeking advice on what she should do after her male coworkers leave their single shared bathroom a gross mess every time they use it, and never clean up after themselves when this happens. The woman refuses to be a maid to her infantile, obnoxious colleagues, and commenters are offering her advice on how to get her message across. Scroll to read.

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  • Some women have friends who think they owe them a deep clean just because of their gender, and others have friends who wouldn't dare utilize their gender to benefit from an outdated stereotype. Some folks are completely unaware of the social hierarchy they benefit from, and the male coworkers in this story are no different. There is not stereotype for cleanliness…

     

  • "I can't even fathom how careless one has to be to leave the ONE shared bathroom we have... in such state."
    via Kateryna Hliznitsova For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "How to confront male coworkers for not cleaning up after themselves?"

    I (21F) work in a small office with 4 other coworkers (All M in their mid/late 20s). We have a single bathroom so you're able to lock the door and have some privacy.
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • I have been disgusted these past few months from the gross mess 2 of my coworkers leave. We're talking p stains on the seat, chairs, even long p p that
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • has probably fallen off while using toilet paper. I can't even fathom how careless one has to be to leave the ONE shared bathroom we have
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • (considering I'm a woman) in such state. My boss works in office but he has also been the one leaving mess behind multiple times. We have no HR.
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • I have bought bathroom spray, Clorox wipes, wet wipes, anything you can think of. I've had to go downstairs to our neighborhood cafe to use the bathroom because I was so grossed out.
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • P LAVAZZA
    via Azwedo L.LC for Unsplash

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I always aggressively open and close the bathroom cabinets to get the cleaning supplies hoping they can hear how frustrated i get. It's not my job to be cleaning
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • the bathroom. Should i just leave a passive aggressive note? I'm not sure how I can go about confronting these people. It would be so uncomfortable given the subject matter
    via unreliable_narrator4
  • TimelsBunk Are you cleaning it when you aggressively take out those supplies? Stop it, stop cleaning it! Leave the cleaning supplies on the counter, walk out and go use the Cafe bathroom.
    via TimeIsBunk
  • Passive aggression doesn't work in this situation. You need to speak up. I would be audibly shaming these people upon leaving the bathroom, loudly. I would be bringing it up in meetings and asking who raised them. What are they animals?
    via TimeIsBunk
  • 214speaking No passive aggressiveness and stop cleaning up after them. Talk to your management and let them handle it.
    via 214speaking
  • darebouche Yes. Use your words. Tell them you are not their mother or their maid and they need to clean up after themselves.
    via darebouche
  • JLAOM Don't clean the bathroom. Leave it and continue to use the café bathroom. Let them stew in their own mess. They are expecting you to clean it because you are a woman.
    via JLAOM
  • LakesLife I worked in an office that was mostly men and the men came in before us ladies. Since there was no women in the building at the time the men would use all the bathrooms. We got tired of cleaning the p off the seats and
    via LakesLife
  • put up pretty pink signs that said "If you sprinkle when you tinkle be a sweetie and wipe the seatie". This helped a ton. We were told the men were embarrassed to be called out like that so they decided to do better.
    via LakesLife
  • Acer018 You have obnoxious ignorant slobs in your office. Announce you are too grossed out to use that bathroom everytime you have to leave and use the camera facility. Make sure to tell each of the slobs that you gave to use the bathroom but the office one is too
    via Acer018
  • gross and you'll haventonuse the Cafe. Then go and use the Cafe and sit and have a coffee. Each and every ton. Make it an announcement ritual and make eye contact when you tell each of the four slobs.
    via Acer018

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women empowerment workplace-stories male empowered Female Empowerment work coworkers entitled people karma advice career workplace entitled female reddit thread Reddit empowering entitled people
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