Person Doesn't Know How To Respond To Boss Asking Them How Many Times They Used The Bathroom

Every group of people tends to have a person or two who’s a bigger fan of restroom breaks than the rest. At this place of employment, redditor ‘Distinct-Clothes-592’ was such a person.

Taking big gulps of water in between customers made them run to the restroom at least a few times during their shift, consequently making their boss question their health. But the redditor was hesitant to discuss their bladder activity with their superior.

There can be many reasons why some people frequent the restroom more than others. The amount of fluid one consumes alone can make a huge difference, as some people drink a lake compared to their camel-like friends (the latter might not go two weeks without water, but they typically don’t seem to hydrate themselves well either).

Harvard Health Publishing points out that a person should typically aim to consume four to six cups of plain water every day. However, the recommended intake varies with each person; it depends on consumption of other sources of fluids, the person’s age, their level of activity and overall health, as well as their surroundings, such as the temperature outside.

While we each might require different amounts of it, one thing is universal—we all need water. It keeps the body functioning properly by carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells, helping the digestive system, normalizing the blood pressure, and regulating body temperature, among other things, Harvard Health Publishing emphasizes.

No matter the amount of water one consumes, it’s unlikely that they would want to discuss how it affects their urinary system with their boss. The OP, too, was hesitant to expand on the matter when their superior started asking them about their bladder activity; they weren’t sure if they were required to disclose such information to their employer.

According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), upon employment, the company can only inquire about medical-related matters if they need medical documentation to support an employee’s request for some sort of an accommodation or if the employer has reason to believe that the employee is not fit to perform their job successfully or safely because of a medical condition. Aforementioned accommodations can be requested for different reasons, including urinary incontinence—unintentional passing of urine, reportedly affecting millions of people worldwide.

According to a California-based attorney, Sharon Vinick, while each case is different and situation-dependent, people dealing with urinary incontinence are protected by law and entitled to reasonable accommodation. “There’s been a lot of evolution in the law over the last 20 years,” Vinick told Depend. “It provides protection for people with all manners of disability, including incontinence.”

The OP didn’t detail whether or not they were suffering from a medical condition, but some redditors in the comments suggested that the employer shouldn’t have asked for such information either way. A few of them also discussed some rather creative ways to best deal with the situation.