We’ve all been there. Sitting in the stalls about to do your business and then someone walks into the toilet. And doesn’t leave.

Your adrenaline is through the roof as you tactfully try to plot what – or how – you’re going to make your next move.

It feels like you’re the only person at this precise moment in time, who has ever felt this embarrassed as you fight with yourself about whether it’s the smell or sound you want to conceal.


You’re not alone though as a new study has found that almost half of British office workers refuse to ‘go’ whilst at work.



According to the study by money-saving website VoucherCodesPro, the average British worker will not poo whilst in their office, despite 89 per cent of respondents insisting that they will use the toilet to urinate.

A majority of respondents say they were envious of work colleagues who do use the toilet at work to take a ‘number 2’.

Almost half of Brits too scared to poop at work (Picture: Alamy)

In order to find out more about British etiquette within the average workplace, www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk polled a total of 2,384 British women aged 18 and over for the study.

While 53 per cent of respondents admitted that they do poo at work on a regular basis, the remaining 47 per cent, almost half, said they did not, which is quite alarming.

Of course, we had to find out what the top five reasons were and it is not surprising that many people said they fear their fellow colleagues would hear/smell what they were doing.

Here’s how the results stack up:

Top reasons why people don't poo at work I fear that my fellow colleagues would hear/smell what I was doing 37 I am not comfortable doing so anywhere other than my own home 31 The toilets at my work are too unhygienic 24 It is frowned upon amongst the staff where I work 18 I am normally too busy at work to take long toilet breaks 9 Share

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Apparently, more people than you think feel like they’re in the middle of a James Bond movie when they’re planning to use the toilet. *It’s not just you!*.

A surprising 23 per cent said they ensure nobody is in the toilet before they use it while 18 per cent said they made sure nobody knew they were using the toilet beforehand.

Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, spokesperson for the Royal College of GPs, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Bodily functions can be a source of great embarrassment for many people, but the fact is they are completely normal and play a huge part in keeping us healthy.’

‘Some people naturally need to go to the toilet more frequently than others and not going when your body suggests you need to can exacerbate medical conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, so I would encourage people not to resist using the toilet when necessary.’

She added: ‘It is really important that people are not teased or made to feel awkward about using the bathroom when they are at work.

‘As long as good hygiene standards, such as washing hands after you use the toilet, are adhered to, there should be nothing embarrassing about what is a perfectly natural function.’



That settles that then.

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