A conversation (AI-assisted) about an employee wellbeing topic a lot of people never think about: Delaying bathroom use because of lack of scheduling flexibility, lack of access, or excessive job demands.
This has serious physical and mental health consequences, and you’ll be shocked at the range of workers affected, including — in addition to warehouse and poultry processing workers, who’ve been in the news — nurses, teachers, women working in predominantly male jobs, professional drivers and transit operators, bankers, call center reps, and even work-from-home employees.
This conversation counters the prevailing commodification of employee wellbeing, emphasizing instead the importance of meeting workers’ basic needs. It also summarizes OSHA regulation regarding bathroom breaks, while outlining solutions.
Today’s “deep dive” is based on Bob Merberg’s Heigh Ho article, “Let Your People Go: As leaders evangelize wellbeing, workers are deprived of decent bathroom breaks.”
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