7 ms·

The worst one for me was the guy who didn’t wash his hands after using the restroom. One day, one of my team members told me about this, and I didn’t believe hi

by rcurry 7y ago

The worst one for me was the guy who didn’t wash his hands after using the restroom. One day, one of my team members told me about this, and I didn’t believe him, ha ha, so a few days later I’m in the restroom and this guy comes out of a stall and just walks out the door. So about a week later my guy who’d complained about it had some problem with one of our other systems, and who do they send over to help him out? You guessed it - Mr. Doesn’t Wash His Hands. So I watch this guy sit down at my team member’s keyboard and work on some stuff with him, then after he leaves my team member gives me this horrified look and gestures at his keyboard. I straight up just walked over to his cube, unplugged his keyboard and threw it in the trash and told him “Go tell IT you need a new keyboard.” It was easier to just throw away the keyboard than to have that conversation with someone. What grown adult needs to be told to wash their hands after they use the toilet? I later learned that almost everyone on the floor knew about this guy and they were all sickened being around him.

acidburnNSA 7y ago
You said stall so I am onboard with your disgust. This always reminds me about a Richard Feynman story where he'd stand in the bathroom and ridicule people who washed their hands after using the urinal, saying the urine was sterile anyway. I find that kind of hilarious. Colleagues complained all the time, like "well I was headed to lunch anyway and always wash my hands before lunch"
- mikestew 7y ago
  Mr. Feyman’s mistake is assuming I’m trying to wash away urine. I touch stuff other than my dick throughout the day. Post-piss is as good a time as any. Not that I would have ever that I felt I owed such an asshole an explanation.
  - loopz 7y ago
    Piss starts smelling over time. You can drink it but don't pretend it's water. Various situations like sickness can contaminate and spread through urine. Some besserwissers just aren't.
  - mkagenius 7y ago
    Why is urine getting on your hands? Who designs your (not you specifically) urinals?
    - mikestew 7y ago
      I see Mr. Feyman has been woke from the dead, and still feels the need to demand an explanation. People piss on their hands sometimes, own up to that. Let he who has never had a stray pubic hair turn the urine stream into a spring rain shower cast the first stone.
    - authoritarian 7y ago
      Nowhere in OPs comment did he state, or even imply, that he got urine on his hands... The point he was making, which you seem to have missed entirely, is that he ISN'T in fact trying to wash away urine but rather any other nastiness he may have touched throughout the day.
      - mkagenius 7y ago
        Yes, I was mostly replying to the parent comment. And in general seemed liked everyone in this thread was getting urine on their hands.
- fouc 7y ago
  The first spurts of urine aren't actually sterile, nevermind the area around the urinal (where there's probably a non-zero chance of transfer). Ultimately washing hands is for the benefit of other people. It just shows conscientiousness.
  - topmonk 7y ago
    It makes your hands dry, though.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - AstralStorm 7y ago
      Push for a better soap then, disinfectant, or use a cream. Well, even just scrubbing the hands under water is better than nothing, if that's an insoluble problem in your organization.
      - topmonk 7y ago
        I wasn't talking about soap. I never use it or shampoo either. My theory is that by washing away all the oils from your skin, you just encourage your body to produce oil faster. That's why you soap users get all goopy at the end of the day and your clothes smell. I can wear my clothes for at least 48 hours before they start to smell. But anyway, even just water can dry out my hands, and I don't want to use any creams. Either they contain alcohol and dry my hands out further or make them too greasy, and cause then to stop producing oils. I think your just going to have to get used to the fact that there is going to be traces of poop and pee wherever you go. I mean, even if people like me did wash my hands, the spray from flushing the toilet disperses fecal matter and urine throughout the whole room, onto your clothes, on your hair, in your mouth when you breathe. It's probably a healthy thing, exposing your immune system, anyway.
        867-5309 7y ago
        why would you favour naturally oily hands over clean hands? you are sacrificing everybody's hygiene for your own comfort. what do you do around babies and the elderly? despite your superior body chemistry, do you not wash your clothes in soap? would you refuse antiseptic treatment, or condone a team of surgeons with your unhygienic practice to save your life? there is a reason humans harness sanitation: it saves and prolongs lives
- watwut 7y ago
  Unless they pissed directly on own hands while not touching penis, Feynman was just dumb asshole thinking how smart he is.
Yessing 7y ago
while the disgust is warranted, I can't help but feel that you've created a toxic culture there. for example, the Keyboard scene, being horrified because someone touched your keyboard is not logical behaviour. In fact, the keyboard is probably more disgusting than the toilet paper. The actions of your employee were not rational. But by validating them you create a mob. "begin sickned/disguested" becomes a behavior of the in-group. Mocking that guy, overreacting is than encouraged by social validation. These are the same dynamics as bullying because it is a form of bullying. Plus, this is exacerbated by your team member ( and maybe you later, just by asking) going arround bad-mouthing him. Imagine if everyone started acting hostile towards you and you had no way to know why?
- loopz 7y ago
  Exactly this. Doesn't pass The Golden Rule. HN upbringing v2.0
- jacobolus 7y ago
  You phrased that a lot more gently than I would have. Kudos. The guy should wash his hands after pooping, but performing a melodrama behind his back based on a pathological fear of unwashed hands seems extremely unprofessional.
- rightbyte 7y ago
  Come on it's a story read between the lines. The message is that you are reluctant to great lenght to emberras someone infront of the same person but have no problem doing it behind his back. This is acctually a prime example of where mocking might fix the issue so I kinda agree with you. He might think "what a bunch of wuzzies" and star cleaning his hands. Quite ofent I get to work with my tshirt inside out ... before I get to know my colleagues they don't say a thing which is quite embarrassing when my wife notice back home.
jakelazaroff 7y ago
> I straight up just walked over to his cube, unplugged his keyboard and threw it in the trash and told him “Go tell IT you need a new keyboard.” I’m not sure whether you’re proud of this story, but that is an extreme overreaction. What grown adult throws away a keyboard (company property!) rather than having a conversation with someone? Did you also go around removing the doorknobs to all the rooms this person went into?
- anilakar 7y ago
  Employees don't usually value hardware they didn't pay for. I've seen people intentionally banging their old laptops against the table to break the HDD and consequently get a new, faster computer. I'm also guilty. A certain easily-upset micromanager sourced a box of one dollar second hand HP keyboards that are pretty much unusable, so I've been shipping them out with other hardware, forgetting them at customer premises and so on.
  - jacobush 7y ago
    If they are actually unusable, it's not the same. You are then ridding the company of a liability.
nate_meurer 7y ago
This story is layers of stupidity. Yes, you should wash your hands after pooping. But that keyboard, simply by virtue of being a keyboard, was more heavily laden with bacteria than the toilet seats in your bathrooms, regardless of who was using it, and evidence of any health risk therefrom is so far lacking [1]. Do you have dogs? Better get rid of them too since they track feces into your house in quantities that dwarf those spread by Mr. Poopy Hands. 1 - www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/your-phone-and-laptop-probably-wont-make-you-sick-but-you-should-still-clean-them/2019/08/13/99ba1416-b9f5-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html
greggman2 7y ago
sounds like you need to do some research into what's actually dirty. hint it's not bathrooms https://www.google.com/search?q=are+bathrooms+more+dirty+than+other+rooms https://www.google.com/search?q=are+bathrooms+more+dirty+tha...
musicale 7y ago
You got it backwards - toilet seats are cleaner than computer keyboards. https://www.center4research.org/bacteria-computer-keyboards-toilet-seats/ https://www.center4research.org/bacteria-computer-keyboards-...
- gsich 7y ago
  Toilets get cleaned regularly (at most places). Keyboards not really.
xvector 7y ago
You're instigating workplace bullying. Have you thought of handling this like a mature adult?
downerending 7y ago
If you think most guys wash their hands after using the restroom, I have some really bad news for you. (My wife reports that it's not that much better on her side...)

by rcurry 7y ago

acidburnNSA 7y ago

You said stall so I am onboard with your disgust. This always reminds me about a Richard Feynman story where he'd stand in the bathroom and ridicule people who washed their hands after using the urinal, saying the urine was sterile anyway. I find that kind of hilarious. Colleagues complained all the time, like "well I was headed to lunch anyway and always wash my hands before lunch"

mikestew 7y ago
Mr. Feyman’s mistake is assuming I’m trying to wash away urine. I touch stuff other than my dick throughout the day. Post-piss is as good a time as any. Not that I would have ever that I felt I owed such an asshole an explanation.
- loopz 7y ago
  Piss starts smelling over time. You can drink it but don't pretend it's water. Various situations like sickness can contaminate and spread through urine. Some besserwissers just aren't.
- mkagenius 7y ago
  Why is urine getting on your hands? Who designs your (not you specifically) urinals?
  - mikestew 7y ago
    I see Mr. Feyman has been woke from the dead, and still feels the need to demand an explanation. People piss on their hands sometimes, own up to that. Let he who has never had a stray pubic hair turn the urine stream into a spring rain shower cast the first stone.
  - authoritarian 7y ago
    Nowhere in OPs comment did he state, or even imply, that he got urine on his hands... The point he was making, which you seem to have missed entirely, is that he ISN'T in fact trying to wash away urine but rather any other nastiness he may have touched throughout the day.
    - mkagenius 7y ago
      Yes, I was mostly replying to the parent comment. And in general seemed liked everyone in this thread was getting urine on their hands.
fouc 7y ago
The first spurts of urine aren't actually sterile, nevermind the area around the urinal (where there's probably a non-zero chance of transfer). Ultimately washing hands is for the benefit of other people. It just shows conscientiousness.
- topmonk 7y ago
  It makes your hands dry, though.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - AstralStorm 7y ago
    Push for a better soap then, disinfectant, or use a cream. Well, even just scrubbing the hands under water is better than nothing, if that's an insoluble problem in your organization.
    - topmonk 7y ago
      I wasn't talking about soap. I never use it or shampoo either. My theory is that by washing away all the oils from your skin, you just encourage your body to produce oil faster. That's why you soap users get all goopy at the end of the day and your clothes smell. I can wear my clothes for at least 48 hours before they start to smell. But anyway, even just water can dry out my hands, and I don't want to use any creams. Either they contain alcohol and dry my hands out further or make them too greasy, and cause then to stop producing oils. I think your just going to have to get used to the fact that there is going to be traces of poop and pee wherever you go. I mean, even if people like me did wash my hands, the spray from flushing the toilet disperses fecal matter and urine throughout the whole room, onto your clothes, on your hair, in your mouth when you breathe. It's probably a healthy thing, exposing your immune system, anyway.
      - 867-5309 7y ago
        why would you favour naturally oily hands over clean hands? you are sacrificing everybody's hygiene for your own comfort. what do you do around babies and the elderly? despite your superior body chemistry, do you not wash your clothes in soap? would you refuse antiseptic treatment, or condone a team of surgeons with your unhygienic practice to save your life? there is a reason humans harness sanitation: it saves and prolongs lives
watwut 7y ago
Unless they pissed directly on own hands while not touching penis, Feynman was just dumb asshole thinking how smart he is.

Yessing 7y ago

while the disgust is warranted, I can't help but feel that you've created a toxic culture there. for example, the Keyboard scene, being horrified because someone touched your keyboard is not logical behaviour. In fact, the keyboard is probably more disgusting than the toilet paper. The actions of your employee were not rational. But by validating them you create a mob. "begin sickned/disguested" becomes a behavior of the in-group. Mocking that guy, overreacting is than encouraged by social validation. These are the same dynamics as bullying because it is a form of bullying. Plus, this is exacerbated by your team member ( and maybe you later, just by asking) going arround bad-mouthing him. Imagine if everyone started acting hostile towards you and you had no way to know why?

loopz 7y ago
Exactly this. Doesn't pass The Golden Rule. HN upbringing v2.0
jacobolus 7y ago
You phrased that a lot more gently than I would have. Kudos. The guy should wash his hands after pooping, but performing a melodrama behind his back based on a pathological fear of unwashed hands seems extremely unprofessional.
rightbyte 7y ago
Come on it's a story read between the lines. The message is that you are reluctant to great lenght to emberras someone infront of the same person but have no problem doing it behind his back. This is acctually a prime example of where mocking might fix the issue so I kinda agree with you. He might think "what a bunch of wuzzies" and star cleaning his hands. Quite ofent I get to work with my tshirt inside out ... before I get to know my colleagues they don't say a thing which is quite embarrassing when my wife notice back home.

jakelazaroff 7y ago

> I straight up just walked over to his cube, unplugged his keyboard and threw it in the trash and told him “Go tell IT you need a new keyboard.” I’m not sure whether you’re proud of this story, but that is an extreme overreaction. What grown adult throws away a keyboard (company property!) rather than having a conversation with someone? Did you also go around removing the doorknobs to all the rooms this person went into?

anilakar 7y ago
Employees don't usually value hardware they didn't pay for. I've seen people intentionally banging their old laptops against the table to break the HDD and consequently get a new, faster computer. I'm also guilty. A certain easily-upset micromanager sourced a box of one dollar second hand HP keyboards that are pretty much unusable, so I've been shipping them out with other hardware, forgetting them at customer premises and so on.
- jacobush 7y ago
  If they are actually unusable, it's not the same. You are then ridding the company of a liability.

nate_meurer 7y ago

This story is layers of stupidity. Yes, you should wash your hands after pooping. But that keyboard, simply by virtue of being a keyboard, was more heavily laden with bacteria than the toilet seats in your bathrooms, regardless of who was using it, and evidence of any health risk therefrom is so far lacking [1]. Do you have dogs? Better get rid of them too since they track feces into your house in quantities that dwarf those spread by Mr. Poopy Hands. 1 - www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/your-phone-and-laptop-probably-wont-make-you-sick-but-you-should-still-clean-them/2019/08/13/99ba1416-b9f5-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html

greggman2 7y ago

sounds like you need to do some research into what's actually dirty. hint it's not bathrooms https://www.google.com/search?q=are+bathrooms+more+dirty+than+other+rooms https://www.google.com/search?q=are+bathrooms+more+dirty+tha...

musicale 7y ago

You got it backwards - toilet seats are cleaner than computer keyboards. https://www.center4research.org/bacteria-computer-keyboards-toilet-seats/ https://www.center4research.org/bacteria-computer-keyboards-...

gsich 7y ago
Toilets get cleaned regularly (at most places). Keyboards not really.

xvector 7y ago

You're instigating workplace bullying. Have you thought of handling this like a mature adult?

downerending 7y ago

If you think most guys wash their hands after using the restroom, I have some really bad news for you. (My wife reports that it's not that much better on her side...)