Using the StandardToilet could potentially save employees 2.5 minutes a day - which could presumably be used doing something more productive than sitting with your pants down.

Forget faster computers and ergonomic seating, the latest design to make you more productive at work is a tilted toilet.

The StandardToilet has been designed to be intentionally uncomfortable, to encourage employees to spend less time in the bathroom at work.

Its creators say the workplace toilet has become somewhere to text and scroll social media, with UK employees spending an average of 10 minutes a day on the loo. That's estimated to cost UK companies up to £4 billion (NZ$7.94b) a year.

They say horizontal seats enable people to sit on the loo "longer than necessary", while their tilted design "offers the ability to increase business efficiency and profits through reductions in social media usage."

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​A patent has been submitted for the sloping toilet, which comes in either a floor or wall-mounted model and has received backing from the not-for-profit British Toilet Association (BTA).

But not everyone's in favour of the idea, with many poo-pooing the design online.

"I would definitely have concerns for pregnant women and older people with hip/knee problems. This should be illegal," commented one user on Reddit.

​"When you have to make your employees uncomfortable so they work, maybe, just maybe, you are a terrible employer and need to change the working conditions?" said another.

Others were quick to suggest ways to put the comfort back into employees' comfort breaks, by using door stops under the seat to level it out or sitting on the toilet backwards.

As well as increasing workers' productivity, StandardToilet says its design could also reduce time spent queuing for toilets in busy public places, such as shopping centres, concert halls and transport hubs.