They’re literally scared “s–tless.”
For a generation that likes expressing their emotions, Gen Z keeps a lot bottled up inside. A whopping one in three Zoomers is scared to use the bathroom at the office, according to a recent study by online bathroom appliance purveyor QS Supplies.
The UK-based bazaar surveyed more than 1,000 employees on their workplace loo habits and calculated the impact of bathroom breaks on company productivity.
They found that a surprising number of office workers are reticent about going number two at their vocation station. According to the study, one in 12 employees has never pooped at work while 34% are scared to use the facilities.
Meanwhile, nearly one in five employees — around 19% — outright refuse to go at their place of employment, while one in four choose to hold it until they get home.
Zoomers are the generation most likely to engage in bathroom stall-ing, marking one of the myriad ways 20-somethings struggle at the workplace.
Eleven percent of Gen Z employees claim they’ve never pooped at work while 36% are reportedly scared to do so.
There’s also a gender disparity with dropping the kids off at the office pool. Nearly half of women are scared to poop at work (48%) compared to just 19% of men.
As for the reasons why employees are so toilet-shy, a lack of privacy was the greatest concern among employees (59%), followed by embarrassment about the smell (57%) and then noise concerns (47%).
Many employees claimed holding it in caused them to suffer from various health problems, including abdominal discomfort, heightened stress and even constipation.
Despite the high amount of people heeding the call of doody, firms still find that they’re flushing money down the toilet due to staff bathroom breaks.
Companies lost an estimated average of $3,565 per remote employee, while $2,833 goes down the toilet per in-office employee every year due to time spent in the bathroom while on the clock, according to the research.
Oftentimes, employees are simply using bathroom breaks as an excuse to take a siesta — one in five reportedly use it for that purpose.
