replaced
01-09-2004, 02:22 PM
I wrote this tonight while thinking about doing a radio documentary about bathroom talk in the workplace.
B.K. :twisted:
Occupational Pooping has been a concern of many in working America since the introduction of John J. Crapper’s toilet in the late 1800’s.
While OP isn’t an actual occupation, it is an act that is both experienced and feared by workers every day. OP is often the topic of conversation among co-workers that are comfortable enough in their relationships that they can share their stories of their most intimate bodily functions.
Fortunately the subject of OP It hasn’t progressed to the point of when you first meet someone; you share if you had your “Daily B.M” as my Great Aunt Gertrude used to call it, that day. But it is an occasional topic in e-mails and break room conversation.
When someone says “Man I just took a big one!” you know that they are not referring to the deer they shot over the weekend. How about “Wow, I am not sure what was in that omelet but it sure made things slippery”. Of course they are talking about their BM’s.
OP can also be very emotional for many. The fear of public pooping, also known as Public Pooping Fear or PPF is extremely common. It is not a condition that fits a certain personality. Even the boldest, most outgoing Type A personalities can have PPF.
”I absolutely cannot go at work” stressed Marion Hancock, a manufacturing employee in Peoria, IL. “It is gross. Our department bathroom has four stalls. I can go number 1 in there, but when someone is tearing it up, I want to gag. I try to hold it until I get home”
Marion’s concern is the number one symptom of PPF diagnosed people. They cannot have their “daily dump” in the company of strangers, or even those that they know well.
”There is just something about making all of that noise. And what if it smells bad? You just know that when you are in the stall doing your thing, the person who is coming into pee looks under the stall to see if they recognize your shoes. I bet that they also hang outside the bathroom just waiting for you to come out, timing how long you were in there. It can be very traumatic”.
Just about every one that has an e-mail account has received one of the many “types of work poop” e-mail. That type of communication doesn’t help PPF’rs get over their condition. Tucker Roberston shares: “Now, when I go to the bathroom I am labeling each session with a name that I read in an e-mail. It’s all I can think about. I wonder before I have to go if it’s going to be a floater, then I am disappointed when I am done and I can’t see it because it sank to the bottom and down the chute. I know that I did something, but where is it?
While talking to a friend of mine recently about how I do whatever it takes to avoid going to “the bathroom” at work, he informed me that he loves doing the “Community Poop at Work” and makes a point to avoid the private bathroom on his floor and goes downstairs to the multi-stall bathroom. “I just go in there and blast ass! I love it, sometimes when I am blowing it up I let out a loud “Yeah, that is great!”. It’s even better when it smells so bad that people actually turn around and go out the door right after they walked into the bathroom. Now that is powerful”.
A mystery to me is why there is always a minimum of .5-inch separation between the wall and stall divider. How about the door? There is always a gap that allows all of the bathroom visitors a clean visual of who is doing their thing in the stall. You can’t hold a newspaper up to block the view because it is just too strenuous on your arms. It is difficult to have a successful poop session when you upper body is strained. Even worse is when the pooper voyeur makes eye contact with the pooper in the stall. That can be bad for both the PPF’r and the PV.
Congress should modify the ADA to include privacy for poopers and mandate that all stalls provide complete security from wandering eyes. While they are at it, how about setting some standards for bathroom ventilation. Since mental conditions like occupational stress are now recognized by Workers Compensation as an occupational condition and can qualify for FMLA, it would behoove Congress to recognize this as a potential condition that will affect employers in the United States. PPF could result in time off due to the mental strain, and also lead to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, another condition recognized under FMLA.
Mary Tucker of Clay City, IN became severely constipated because she was working 12 hour days at the local pottery. “I just couldn’t stand it. I had to go so bad during the day but wouldn’t do it at work. I would hold it in for so long that when I got home, I just couldn’t go. The next day it would be worse. I was backed up so bad on Thursday that I had to take Friday off to try to relax. I needed the overtime but what could I do? It’s hard to make pottery when you are full of crap”.
_________________
Enjoy life everyday. We only have one tour.
B.K. :twisted:
Occupational Pooping has been a concern of many in working America since the introduction of John J. Crapper’s toilet in the late 1800’s.
While OP isn’t an actual occupation, it is an act that is both experienced and feared by workers every day. OP is often the topic of conversation among co-workers that are comfortable enough in their relationships that they can share their stories of their most intimate bodily functions.
Fortunately the subject of OP It hasn’t progressed to the point of when you first meet someone; you share if you had your “Daily B.M” as my Great Aunt Gertrude used to call it, that day. But it is an occasional topic in e-mails and break room conversation.
When someone says “Man I just took a big one!” you know that they are not referring to the deer they shot over the weekend. How about “Wow, I am not sure what was in that omelet but it sure made things slippery”. Of course they are talking about their BM’s.
OP can also be very emotional for many. The fear of public pooping, also known as Public Pooping Fear or PPF is extremely common. It is not a condition that fits a certain personality. Even the boldest, most outgoing Type A personalities can have PPF.
”I absolutely cannot go at work” stressed Marion Hancock, a manufacturing employee in Peoria, IL. “It is gross. Our department bathroom has four stalls. I can go number 1 in there, but when someone is tearing it up, I want to gag. I try to hold it until I get home”
Marion’s concern is the number one symptom of PPF diagnosed people. They cannot have their “daily dump” in the company of strangers, or even those that they know well.
”There is just something about making all of that noise. And what if it smells bad? You just know that when you are in the stall doing your thing, the person who is coming into pee looks under the stall to see if they recognize your shoes. I bet that they also hang outside the bathroom just waiting for you to come out, timing how long you were in there. It can be very traumatic”.
Just about every one that has an e-mail account has received one of the many “types of work poop” e-mail. That type of communication doesn’t help PPF’rs get over their condition. Tucker Roberston shares: “Now, when I go to the bathroom I am labeling each session with a name that I read in an e-mail. It’s all I can think about. I wonder before I have to go if it’s going to be a floater, then I am disappointed when I am done and I can’t see it because it sank to the bottom and down the chute. I know that I did something, but where is it?
While talking to a friend of mine recently about how I do whatever it takes to avoid going to “the bathroom” at work, he informed me that he loves doing the “Community Poop at Work” and makes a point to avoid the private bathroom on his floor and goes downstairs to the multi-stall bathroom. “I just go in there and blast ass! I love it, sometimes when I am blowing it up I let out a loud “Yeah, that is great!”. It’s even better when it smells so bad that people actually turn around and go out the door right after they walked into the bathroom. Now that is powerful”.
A mystery to me is why there is always a minimum of .5-inch separation between the wall and stall divider. How about the door? There is always a gap that allows all of the bathroom visitors a clean visual of who is doing their thing in the stall. You can’t hold a newspaper up to block the view because it is just too strenuous on your arms. It is difficult to have a successful poop session when you upper body is strained. Even worse is when the pooper voyeur makes eye contact with the pooper in the stall. That can be bad for both the PPF’r and the PV.
Congress should modify the ADA to include privacy for poopers and mandate that all stalls provide complete security from wandering eyes. While they are at it, how about setting some standards for bathroom ventilation. Since mental conditions like occupational stress are now recognized by Workers Compensation as an occupational condition and can qualify for FMLA, it would behoove Congress to recognize this as a potential condition that will affect employers in the United States. PPF could result in time off due to the mental strain, and also lead to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, another condition recognized under FMLA.
Mary Tucker of Clay City, IN became severely constipated because she was working 12 hour days at the local pottery. “I just couldn’t stand it. I had to go so bad during the day but wouldn’t do it at work. I would hold it in for so long that when I got home, I just couldn’t go. The next day it would be worse. I was backed up so bad on Thursday that I had to take Friday off to try to relax. I needed the overtime but what could I do? It’s hard to make pottery when you are full of crap”.
_________________
Enjoy life everyday. We only have one tour.