Boss tracks employees' bathroom breaks, employees maliciously comply, breaking down communication, and costing the company $50k: 'It's honestly beautiful to watch'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Oct 10, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Some things are supposed to be private, and bathroom breaks are one of them. You're supposed to be able to use the facilities whenever you need to, even at work. We can't stop ourselves from being humans with bodies, no matter how our employers might want us to. At the end of the day we're just meat sacks who have to tend to our meat sacks in between generating shareholder profit. That's just the reality.

Plus, nobody likes being surveilled. Sure, we live in a world that is constantly putting us under surveillance, but we don't like to feel it breathing down our necks. We'd like to feel as though we have some level of autonomy and privacy, even at work. The best employers know how to give this to their employees, and trust them enough to not treat them like chilren who need a nanny. This isn't always the case, though, and some employers will wield their power to the fullest extent with no remorse, no matter if it was to the detriment of the company.

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  • 01
    A group of people sit at an office together.
    via Unsplash+ (Unsplash+ Community)

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

  • That didn't stop the employer in this story, who started to monitor their employees' every move. But instead of just buckling down and complying, they banded together to give them a taste of their own medicine. And when communication completely broke down, they had nobody to blame but themselves. Read on to see what happened. 

  • 02

    They tracked our bathroom breaks. Now nobody talks to management about anything.

    My company installed badge scanners at every door about six months ago. Said it was "for security purposes" but we all knew what it was really for. Two weeks later management starts having one on ones asking why certain people are "away from their desks so frequently."
    via u/GregB4789
  • 03
    Turns out they were tracking our bathroom breaks, how long we took for lunch, everything. My coworker got pulled aside because she was "spending too much time in the break room." She has IBS. That was a fun HR complaint.
    via u/GregB4789
  • 04
    But here's where it backfired spectacularly. People stopped talking to management about ANYTHING. Before, if you saw a problem or had an idea, you'd just walk over and mention it. Now? Nobody moves unless absolutely necessary. That means nobody's catching issues before they become expensive disasters.
    via u/GregB4789
  • 05
    Last month a machine broke down because nobody wanted to walk across the building to tell the supervisor about a weird noise. Cost the company $50k in repairs and lost production. When management asked why nobody said anything, the response was "didn't want it to look like I was away from my desk too long."
    via u/GregB4789
  • 06
    Now they're doing mandatory "collaboration sessions" trying to figure out why communication has completely d d. We all just sit there in silence. Nobody's explaining that we're doing exactly what they wanted - staying at our desks and not moving around unnecessarily.
    via u/GregB4789
  • 07
    The tracking is still active. Communication is still de d. It's honestly beautiful to watch.
    via u/GregB4789
  • 08
    A group of people sit at an office together.
    via Unsplash+ (Unsplash+ Community)

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

  • 09

    Commenters chimed in.

    Ethel_Marie • 41m ago That's some amazing collective malicious compliance.
    via u/Ethel_Marie
  • 10
    AppropriateTwo... 38m ago sounds like management shot themselves in the foot
    via u/AppropriateTwo9038
  • 11
    Ted BundysVlksw....38m ago What's the solution, making a bathroom pass available, or raising one's hand when the urge hits? People are underpaid, overworked and don't need this stupid sh
    via u/TedBundysVlkswagon
  • 12
    Fun-Significance... 26m ago This is what happens when a company treats their employees like children who need to be babysat. Absolutely ridiculous to expect people to sit at their desk 8 hours straight.
    via u/Fun-Significance4650
  • 13
    Squirrely_Dan • 37m ago Can't wait for companies to start putting a limit on the amount of their potable water I'm allowed to consume on the property during work hours.
    via u/Squirrely__Dan
  • 14
    coco_bubble. 21m ago My work (Drs office) had us put an app on our personal cell phones to clock in and out. When you are clocked in, it tracks your movement. One manager was giggling about knowing how long we were in the bathroom, only man in the office mind you. I
    via u/coco_bubble
  • 15
    turned my location tracking off, and was called into his office for "timecard fraud". But if you turn the tracking off, it clocks you out. So you have to be tracked to get paid. Now I clock in at my desk, and leave my phone on my desk for 8 straight hours, clock out and leave. It's disgusting that they can do these things.
    via u/coco_bubble
  • 16
    Shadowpriest · 26m ago I guess they look forward to being sued for the next medically related bathroom issue.
    via u/Shadowpriest
  • 17
    Fine-Idea-3242 · 22m ago My department works from home now and they will be instituting a tracker on our computers to contact us whenever we stop typing. Most of us are close to retirement and need bathroom breaks frequently.
    via u/Fine-Idea-3242
  • 18
    Upper management says we will have to justify these breaks. One idea we came up with is to photograph the contents of the toilet and send it to management in glorious brown and yellow color! Probably a good way to get fired...
    via u/Fine-Idea-3242
  • 19
    VinylHighway • 24m ago Ha. My team has show they don't like critiques or suggestions or problems pointed out and then also wonders why nobody speaks in the anonymous survey feedback review sessions.
    via u/VinylHighway
  • 20
    mikemojc 18m ago • "The beatings will continue until morale improves." If they are going to punish engagement ( not the goal, but that's the objective outcome), they will receive considerably less voluntary engagement, and resistance to required engagement.
    via u/mikemojc
  • 21
    Manglements best bet to to take the L, roll back the badge scanners, and come at it (what ever "it" is) from a different angle.
    via u/mikemojc
  • 22
    Lifeguard No9762 · 16m ago And why aren't people. walking out??? This sh gets implemented because Americans are too scared to do anything. Then the next step is even more intrusive. And more intrusive. Until a workplace becomes absolutely intolerable and people STILL don't walk out.
    via u/LifeguardNo9762
  • 23
    Honestly, it's so disappointing to see. Walk the f out. Your bathroom habits and eating habits are part of bodily autonomy. A company does not own you. You are a human not an object.
    via u/LifeguardNo9762
  • 24
    sarcasmismygame 14m ago Bwahahahaha I LOVE it! Yep, if you are going to pull this sh be prepared for the fallout. I worked in a place that did that and we started getting scolded for taking bathroom breaks, getting dinged etc. Some poor girl
    via u/sarcasmismygame
  • 25
    p ed her pants and the chair and ended up screaming and crying, with HR running in to see what was going on. It shut down production for the evening, clients who overheard were upset and it flapped all the way up to the
    via u/sarcasmismygame
  • 26
    big bosses who were furious. After that HR told supervisors to knock it off. If they started we'd just go "I guess I'll just use my chair then..." and that took care of that one. Let the idiots figure it out on their own. When I left the
    via u/sarcasmismygame
  • 27
    supervisors were still doing idiotic stuff and the result was the company lost a ton of accounts. They're a third of what they once were and they simply don't understand why.
    via u/sarcasmismygame
  • 28
    killsforpie 9m ago Is the work getting done satisfactorily? Then leave us alone.
    via u/killsforpie
  • 29
    GreenTravelBadger 6m ago . Next, your team should learn ASL. Wouldn't want to disturb the silence with actual voices, now, would we.
    via u/GreenTravelBadger
  • 30
    pgsimon77.9m ago That's kind of an inspiring story/workers can push back without going on strike or disrupting their lives/ very worth remembering ☑
    via u/pgsimon77

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boss antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working reddit story toxic-boss workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit toxic-work-environment
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