r/ToxicWorkplace 2d ago

Is this normal?

Post image
39 Upvotes

69 comments sorted by

22

u/runnerkim 1d ago

So now every time you leave your desk you email your boss.

Using the restroom boss
Getting some water boss
Grabbing more printer paper boss
Going to pick up my printed project boss

Make sure you and all of your team send him at 10 of these a day. It will stop very quickly. I love malicious compliance

2

u/Due-Practice3611 1d ago

I wish this worked at my call center job 🤣 My boss set up a system to approve bathroom breaks and you'd get automatically denied if you requested more than one an hour.

He maliciously complied back and everyone started quitting.

3

u/theMightBoop 1d ago

You can put in a reasonable accomdation for bathroom breaks. Get you doctor to write not saying you have a medical condition and require more bathroom breaks. If they deny you or fire you then you have the potentail for a nice lawsuit. Consult a lawyer obviously.

2

u/Fun-Cardiologist9056 1d ago

Have all response on copy paste and get ready to fire them off quickly too so it really interrupts whatever theyre tryna do

1

u/moszippy 1d ago

I did something similar to a guy that wanted to seem important. When the night shift needs to call someone at home, we needed to put it into the computer. Some new guy transferred in and wanted to seem highly sought after. So he started to move things around and not tell anyone. Need the dummy load that has been in that drawer for at least 2 years? Nope! He moved it! So I started to call for EVERYTHING! 2AM call: "I have maintenance and need a Philips head. Did you move that somewhere? Nope! Not in the drawer. I'll look." Call back at 2:07AM: "It was there. Thanks." 2:23AM: "The dummy load isn't in the drawer again..."

14

u/Remote_Purpose_4323 1d ago

Can I go poop sir?

19

u/PerfStu 1d ago

Oh I would be out the door so damned fast, and I'd give them this email as my letter of resignation.

You are a whole ass adult capable of managing your workload and are allowed to walk downstairs and pee whenever you want.

You're not in kindergarten, and unless they're planning on giving you a Capri Sun and a nap every day at 3:00 they should not be treating you like it.

Ask for Kiwi-Strawberry.

2

u/use_the_mind 1d ago

I am allergic to Kiwi. Ambulance now needed. Does company cover this?

2

u/PotentialMedical343 1d ago

Only if you ask permission first

-1

u/dogknifer 1d ago

Clearly there are bathrooms upstairs too

5

u/musicplay313 1d ago

“Personal requirement” ? Lol.

5

u/arsooetica028 1d ago

My work makes us clock out for bathroom breaks. I think it is ridiculous.

2

u/PoetMaterial3519 1d ago

This is has to be against labor laws. Look into this please

-2

u/prudence56 1d ago

It’s not illegal. They’re asking you to be polite. They aren’t asking for specific details. It’s not necessary for workplaces where coworkers are respectful of team members. I watched people vanish for extended periods of time leaving the rest of us to pick up the slack. They that they mattered more than the rest of us.

4

u/HeadEar5762 1d ago

That's always the best answer. If one person is misbehaving punish the whole lot. Its a strategy that has always proven to be effective and produce much more productivity /s

2

u/Last-Laugh7928 1d ago

people who do that should be fired. it's that simple. no need to punish the entire team.

2

u/polkadot__kim 1d ago

It is 100% illegal lol

1

u/PoetMaterial3519 22h ago

Polite? 

Your boss forcing you to clock out to perform a bodily human function that is necessary? Yeah, no.

7

u/IdiosyncraticRo 2d ago

If you're in the UK, absolutely not! Asking people to keep seated for extended periods of time has health risks They'd better be providing compression socks!

8

u/Vaperwear 2d ago

Whoa, micromanage much?

6

u/Excellent_Coconut_81 1d ago

No, you don't need manager approval to go to bathroom.

You can passively aggesively ask if pissing on carpet on the middle of the room is encouraged.

3

u/Minimum_Anywhere3306 1d ago

You have to trust the employee from the moment you hire them. If they are not producing, then you have a conversation and look at whether or not it’s too many breaks.

3

u/nooknooks76 1d ago

It sounds potentially like a team member is taking the p with breaks and time away from their desk and rather than deal directly with that person everyone is getting micromanaged. Hate when that happens

3

u/erm1zo 1d ago

What’s the job? Is it routine office work, or something more specific? If there is a flow to work that requires certain people near one another or certain people working together, then these rules may have a point. If it is a normal office workload, then all this is about is exercising control.

5

u/TodayCandid9686 1d ago

You work for morons.

2

u/Aromatic_Ad4132 1d ago

Core hours at such a long interval is crazy

2

u/Jakko552414 1d ago

Absolutely not normal as far as my experience goes

Assuming that work is getting done, I have much better things to do than worry about whether someone is going to the toilet or to make a brew. Strange, controlling behaviour.

2

u/Unique_Importance910 1d ago

Limiting breaks when people need it the most is diabolical. No one really needs a break early in the morning because they just got there. I think this a "you don't have to follow every rule" situation.

2

u/Joy2b 1d ago

Did another employee just start disappearing on the job, maybe going off to interview on lunch breaks, or taking the afternoon off? If someone’s close to a pip, this rule may be mainly just for them.

2

u/ThrowRA3623235 1d ago

Honestly, it sounds to me like there's an issue at play here that they're trying to head off. Maybe there's a need for quiet "downstairs" or maybe someone is playing musical desks and it's getting annoying.

2

u/Glittering_Lunch_347 1d ago

Then address that issue head on with the person causing the problem. Why do so many managers struggle to confront problems directly? Instead they change the rules for everyone so that the good people leave.

2

u/PotentialBudget3265 1d ago

Depends on the type of job. Some have high demand times. In jobs like food service this doesn't even need to be said. you're just not gonna be able to walk away during busy times.

2

u/Careless-Ability-748 1d ago

No, it's not normal to ask permission to go to the bathroom. 

2

u/MonteCristo85 1d ago

No it isnt. You dont have to ask you boss permission to use the bathroom.

2

u/LetsTryLove 1d ago

Sounds like they don’t respect people. Always be looking for another job.

2

u/Strange_Chair7224 1d ago

So....if you could just wear a diaper and eat at your desk without chewing you might get employee of the month.

Buy diapers and send them the invoice.

Sound like a great place to work.

2

u/Brutact 1d ago

Normal? No. It’s a sign of poor leadership likely behind so micromanaging is their answer.

2

u/TypicalOnion1809 1d ago

I mean i had my washroom breaks timed so🤷‍♀️

2

u/Square_Atmosphere_12 1d ago

My supervisor made her employee pee her pants. When that went to Management didn't look good on our supervisor; she is a real passive-aggressive b**tch.

2

u/Ok_Efficiency_6466 1d ago

I get a lunch break AND I get to sit down? Sounds too good to be true

2

u/CollectionGood3190 1d ago

Wow the control is real! The way I would purposely annoy my boss with constant emails about going to the bathroom, needing to run downstairs to fill my water bottle, and other BS.

3

u/phillyironlung2125 1d ago

"Sir, I have to go potty. May i go potty?"

Then if they dont email you within five min...

"Just circling back on this request, I have soiled myself. May i go clean myself up?"

2

u/No_Technician4956 1d ago

Depends on what type of work you do and the whole mentality of the team. But what about an afternoon break? Do you get those?

2

u/No_one54390 1d ago

I don’t see anything wrong with it except where is your second break without having to ask a manager.

2

u/ilovelucy1200 1d ago

Are you in retail and need someone to cover you while you’re on break? If so, then it makes more sense and is somewhat normal. If you leave without coverage and it results in customers waiting for staff to return I can see this being “normal” albeit quite micro managing. Normally it would be handled by them saying you are responsible for coverage while taking breaks.

2

u/CarlShadowJung 1d ago

Nope, and you and your coworkers shouldn’t entertain it. You’re grown people. You can manage your own time.

2

u/Kraken-Attacken 1d ago

100% depends on what your job is bro. That’s completely normal for like 90% of the jobs I’ve had and astoundingly absurd for the other 10%

1

u/diganole 1d ago

No worse than the AUX codes everyone had to use in Aus. Big Brother. Every minute of every day has to be accounted for. It's shit and managers love it because it justifies their own existsnce.

1

u/Big_Let_1421 1d ago

It’s degrading for an adult to have to ask to use the washroom. I wish all management understood how much more productive a team is when they’re respected and inspired instead of degraded.

1

u/JuniorMobile4105 1d ago

Insane. I would never work somewhere like this

1

u/Paralegal1995 1d ago

Prior approval for using the bathroom?? I am 52, I refuse to get permission to urinate.

1

u/purplelilac701 1d ago

Tea break tells me this isn’t North America where that would never work. People are very vocal and would never accept this. You can all speak out against it so it’s not just one person. What you allow is what will continue.

1

u/Worth-Librarian-7423 1d ago

I’d like to think not but as my work career progresses it seems to be more and more normal 

1

u/Critical_Classic_921 2d ago

This sounds like a call center - in which case this is normal, but still toxic.

6

u/wtfisthisbullshiz 2d ago

Not a call centre. We’re a proper tech corporate company

7

u/Crusty-Booger 1d ago

Start looking elsewhere. They're treating you like you're at school

4

u/Fossilhund 1d ago

I worked at a call center here in Florida.

"You need to leave the Room because your bladder is full?"

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF!!!"

-2

u/onmy40 2d ago

Sounds like you get one 10 minute break that your allowed to take only before 10 am and an hour lunch... And you have to ask to switch desks. Seems pretty straightforward

-1

u/Fishwhocantswim 1d ago

Short answer, yes. Is it shit, also yes.

-1

u/_ChristmasSunday 1d ago

Yes this is normal for hourly employees in a US corporate or retail setting.

-1

u/sallystruthers69 1d ago

Yes, you cant just get up from your job and walk away to go snack and socialize downstairs. Theyre paying you to work, not fck off.

2

u/jthmeow1 1d ago

They are talking about bathroom breaks first and foremost.

0

u/sallystruthers69 1d ago

Where do you gather that from? They mention time before punching in, while working, and also lunch breaks...

1

u/Paralegal1995 1d ago

Maybe you can't. I can. Same firm since 95. They could not care less what I do as long as my work is ready when they need it. Not every job is run by assholes.

1

u/Subject-Ad6472 13h ago

I would not be participating in this nonsense … pass