The StandardToilet slopes forward at a slight angle. [Photo: StandardToilet]

A start-up has come up with an innovative solution to prevent UK workers spending too long on the toilet.

The patented StandardToilet is a loo with a difference – featuring a sloping seat fixed at a downward angle of 13 degrees.

Retailing at between £150 and £500, the British Toilet Association (BTA) approved product is said to induce leg strain if you sit on it for more than five minutes – but “not enough to cause health issues”.

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“Anything higher than that would cause wider problems,” Mahabir Gill, founder of StandardToilet, told Wired UK. “Thirteen degrees is not too inconvenient, but you’d soon want to get off the seat quite quickly.”

Gill was inspired by his four decades working as a consulting engineer, he told the publication, a period where he would regularly discover workers asleep on the toilet.

BREAKING NEWS: Say goodbye to comfort breaks! New downward-tilting toilets are designed to become unbearable to sit on after five minutes. They say the main benefit is to employees in improved employee productivity. pic.twitter.com/lfDbeXJdCX — Dave Vescio (@DaveVescio) December 17, 2019

“Its main benefit is to the employers, not the employees,” he added. “It saves the employer money.”

While some might find this move a little drastic, a survey earlier this year found Brits can spend as much as ten times as long to go to the toilet at work compared to at home.

This is according to research conducted by Protecting.co.uk.

Perhaps this could be a side effect of workers not taking enough time out during the day. British employees are increasingly working throughout their lunch breaks, with the average worker takes just 31 minutes rather than the traditional full hour.

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While employers may well be embracing the StandardToilet as a means to improve their employees’ productivity, the unusual bog could still has some health benefits for its users.

It promotes a “reduction in haemorrhoids/musculoskeletan disorder”, according to the company website.

There’s some truth to this: earlier in the year, a study found texting on the loo could give you piles.

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