Bold new, physically uncomfortable toilet design aims to cut down on employees dossing in the workplace

Is nothing sacred?

More than a venue for necessary relief, the toilet is a legitimate sanctuary for some.

Some people get their best thinking done in such surroundings, probably.

Others view the bathroom as a handy place to kill some time during work.

If you subscribe to that last one, BAD NEWS. Your days are numbered.

There's a new toilet in town, one that aims to make you physically uncomfortable and thus dissuade that sweet, sweet 15-minute doss.

First unveiled in mid-November, the 'StandardToilet' has been given the approval of the prestigious British Toilet Association, which is an actual organisation that celebrates important events such as World Toilet Day.

That day takes place on 19 November every year, incidentally. Plan accordingly.

According to the StandardToilet's mission statement, extended employee breaks in the UK alone cost industry and commerce an estimated £4 billion (approximately €4.7 billion) per annum.

Citing "the advent of flexible zero-hour contracts", the team big up their "innovation in toilet design" as an enviable asset for businesses.

The throne in question slopes at a downward angle of 13 degrees, causing strain on the legs after five minutes perched atop it.

StandardToilet founder Mahabir Gill insists that the specific decline isn't enough to cause any notable health issues and is actually more of a deliberate inconvenience.

A report in Wired notes that there are big plans for the radical design - which currently retails for between £150 and £500 (approximately €175 - €590) - with the hope that it will come to be a fixture in train stations, pubs, shopping centres and offices before long.

It all might sound like something from a Brass Eye sketch, but studies have been conducted as to the amount of time employees spend away from their stations and in the bathroom, apparently justifying such desperate measures.

Pretty rude all the same, though.

Image credit via StandardToilet