Boss writes up warehouse worker for taking 2 bathroom breaks in 1 shift: 'Both under 5 minutes'

Shouldn't you be able to take bathroom breaks whenever you want?

The point of a bathroom break isn't that it's planned. It's what you need to go, so you are free to go. It's kind of that simple. But it doesn't always feel that way. Our bodies are our bodies, and there's not a ton we can do to control them, nor should we. We shouldn't betray our own instincts just for someone else's sake, even if that ends up happening a lot. We force ourselves to wake up before we'd like to, to eat when we're free and not when we're hungry, and to stay indoors when what we really want is to run around. We betray our bodies all day long. It's just what the world asks of us. But that can only go so far. We can only pretend we're not human for so long until our humanity insists upon itself.

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  • A warehouse worker talks on the phone at a job
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Got written up for "excessive personal time" because I took two bathroom breaks in one shift. Both under 5 minutes. I know this because my manager actually timed them and printed the log.

    I work warehouse, 10 hour shifts, on my feet the entire time except for two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch which you're technically not supposed to leave the building during. I've been there 14 months, never missed a day, consistently hit my pick rate which is usually in the top third of
    via V3loc1ty_Rogue
  • the floor. Last Tuesday I had a stomach thing, nothing serious, just needed to go twice before my official break, once at 9:40am and once at 11:15am. Both times I was back within five minutes, I know because I was watching the clock myself trying to get back fast. My manager, who I've had maybe four real conversations with in 14 months, called me to the back office at the end of my
    via V3loc1ty_Rogue
  • shift and slid a printed sheet across the table showing two "unscheduled facility departures" with exact timestamps down to the second, told me this was going in my file, and asked me to sign it. The form had a line at the bottom that said "employee acknowledges that unscheduled breaks affect team productivity and company targets."
    via V3loc1ty_Rogue
  • I signed it because I need the job. But I've been thinking about that piece of paper every day since, like the specific image of someone sitting at a computer generating a report about when I went to the bathroom, then printing it, then putting it in a folder, then waiting until the end
    via V3loc1ty_Rogue
  • of my shift to hand it to me across a table. Someone spent more time documenting my bathroom usage than the total time I actually spent in the bathroom. I don't know what else to say about that except that it tells you everything you need to know about how this place sees the people who work there.
    via V3loc1ty_Rogue

  • Commenters agreed that this was out of line.

    wafflez77 Email HR and copy your boss and ask for clarification on the timing of bathroom breaks and ask what the limit is specifically. Act like you're just verifying to make sure you don't break any rules. Frame it as "what is a reasonable time to spend using the restroom?" as you've been penalized for 5 minutes.
    via wafflez77
  • Inevitable-Shop-848 Everyone needs a job but do you need that job. I had a manager tell me that all bathroom breaks should be no more than 2mins. He also came back 10mins later profusely apologizing because he knew he had f ed up. And then he never said another discouraging thing to me for 5yrs.
    via Inevitable-Shop-848
  • A boss with a tablet oversees shipping at a warehouse
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Nobody likes a micromanager, and we would all do best to try not to be one of them. I get it, letting go of control is hard sometimes, and you might rather just make sure that everyone knows what you expect of them at all times. But you shouldn't let your own issues with control impede someone else's life. Or else you just end up in petty drama with people you should be working with. That's what happened in this story, where a boss was way too invested in tracking their employee's breaks. Feeling like you're being watched and scrutinized is one of the worst feelings in the world. You don't want your daily habits and behaviors to end up on trial. You can't help who you are, and you don't need to be observed under a microscope. But sometimes our jobs do that to us, and we have to find ways around it. That's what was happening here, to a worker who was just trying to obey the signs of their body. Their boss, though, saw it as a gross misuse of time. Keep reading to see what happened here and see what you think about it.

  • CompetitiveCodo If you in the US this is against OSHA rules and illegal. Not that that's ever stopped employers
    via CompetitiveCodo
  • just_mark Labor Lawyer Hostile work environment It will soon become very expensive for the company to keep your manager.
    via just_mark
  • Snoo_13349 Is the warehouse flammable?
    via Snoo_13349
  • SlipDizzy I managered a lot of people, hundreds, over decades in many different fields. At no point did I have the bandwidth to monitor their sh_s. Nor would I care if I did have time. Someone who takes time to monitor, and record, shitbreaks is not doing their real job of running the show.
    via SlipDizzy
  • indicatprincess Are you a woman who menstruates? Because I'd be HAPPY to show them the evidence of what I was doing. I worked a job like this but we got an entire 30 minutes on our shift for the bathroom.
    via indicatprincess
  • imdugud777 "Signed under protest" Then your signature. They'll lose their minds. (Oh, a little initial and date to make it legal.)
    via imdugud777
  • Rhyknow85 I don't know what it is about middle management that turns people into corpo bootlicker's and power trippers, but it is rampant
    via Rhyknow85
  • AnamCeili In addition to the ridiculousness of him timing your bathroom breaks -- if your 30 minute lunch is unpaid, then your employer cannot legally require you to remain on work premises for those 30 minutes.
    via AnamCeili
  • angrygirl65 If it happens again and you have to sign something, make sure you write down that you went to the restroom so that it's in their records.
    via angrygirl65
  • Stambro1 Go to your doctor and get a note saying something about extended bathroom visits has to do with something they are treating you for!
    via Stambro1
  • Cryozenica You are a fully grown Man; you should not have to justify using the restroom at any point. Think of it like this...request a meeting with the manager &
    via Cryozenica
  • explain the exact thought processe you mentioned, respectfully. Document the response. Time. Date. And have a witness present. They genuinely may not be in understanding of how intrusive their actions are at best; contact your union at worse.
    via Cryozenica

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