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Easily one of the nicest part of wfh is the frictionless bathroom experience. No long walks. No mess, no smells or grunts from others. No trying to find time to

Easily one of the nicest part of wfh is the frictionless bathroom experience. No long walks. No mess, no smells or grunts from others. No trying to find time to even do it at all, just up and go. As a heavy water drinker I could easily be going once an hour. The office was literal torture some days, stuck in ‘important’ meetings with what feels like a knife in your gut and practically running out before small talk ropes you in for another 20 minutes. It’s a certain kind of hell for sure.

bamboozled 2y ago
I used to have a 1L water bottle and I asked my manager for a water cooler, which had a bunch of benefits, it was never as dramatic as you make it sound.
plasma_beam 2y ago
On the flip side, when you get up and go off camera or turn camera off in a small video call (few participants), it feels awkward to get up and leave and I usually hold it and suffer through it. In person for some reason it felt less awkward to excuse yourself for a few minutes. Not to mention I always leave the airpods in when I go now and have to triple check I’m on mute :)
- __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
  In a pinch like that I'll just put "brb" in the chat, turn off mic and camera, and take the laptop with me.
- lynndotpy 2y ago
  I have a five-step ritual. 1. Mute myself. 2. Double check I am muted. 3. Ask, "Can anyone hear me?" 4. Ask, "Can anyone hear me?" again, louder. 5. State, "I'm about to urinate." Increasingly embarrassing failsafes, but not as embarrassing as broadcasting a bathroom break. I'm happy that I never needed anything past layer 2.
  - mordechai9000 2y ago
    My old headset would disconnect at random. It had its own physical mute button. At some point, Teams decided to switch microphones for me without telling me. So when the headset came back online, Teams continued using the built in laptop mic. Fortunately I wasn't doing anything embarrassing. Someone asked where some background noise was coming from. I said "not from me, I'm on mute". And several people said "no you're not!"
  - prettyStandard 2y ago
    I mentioned this because of the ongoing anti-Samsung thread. I've always avoided Samsung but caved on the folding phones. I haven't really tried out any other phones lately, but I really like their buttons to disable the microphone and camera for this. Not sure if it's Samsung or stock Android at this point. Also I just got an update their adaptive battery protection is something I have been wanting.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - plasma_beam 2y ago
    I’d debate you on 5. That may be more embarrassing.
jader201 2y ago
Not to start a tangent, but the problem here has less to do with WFH vs. RTO (I’ve been 100% WFH for 10 years, FWIW), and more to do with meetings. People that have calendars packed with meetings will have a hard time with bio breaks regardless of where they work. I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that has a culture of minimal meetings for ICs (I probably average 4-6 hours per week), so bio breaks aren’t an issue. But I should still be better about hydrating. I do better than some, but could still do better (probably 80 oz. per day).
- kjkjadksj 2y ago
  With wfh I could be in meeting and just mute and shut video off while I relieve myself. If someone asks me to chime in during the act I could pinch off and be on the mic in 30 seconds.
  - throwanem 2y ago
    The real most dangerous game.
  - anyfoo 2y ago
    I agree with what you've said before, but I still usually wait for the meeting to be over when working from home. The fear of accidentally unmuting, or not having muted correctly to begin with, is too high. It's an expected value thing: The failure case is unlikely, but when it hits, it hits awkwardly. (While also not being the end of the world, which factors into me saying "usually".) It is however unequivocally true that I much, much prefer going to the bathroom at home.
    - kjkjadksj 2y ago
      Even if the camera was on not like its directed at the action anyhow. Laptop might be set down in the hallway outside the door or on the sink.
      - anyfoo 2y ago
bobthepanda 2y ago
I really don't understand grown people who don’t have the decency to at least lift the toilet seat to pee when standing. The public bathrooms in Japan on the other hand are a fantastical heaven.
- aeonik 2y ago
  A lot of dudes legitimately don't know that's what it's for, or they don't understand just how many little splashes happen, or are too grossed out to touch public toilets, therefore feed into the spiraling feedback of desecration.
  - mordechai9000 2y ago
    A lot of dudes will actively deny that they splash at all.
  - SoftTalker 2y ago
    Just lift the seat with your foot if you don't want to touch it. And (at least in the mens room) leave the seat up unless you need it, and if you use it, put it up when you're done. That keeps it clean for the next person.
SoftTalker 2y ago
If you're drinking so much water that you urgently have to pee once an hour you might be over doing it. You can overhydrate. Your urine should be a light straw color. If it's totally clear you might be overhydrated. If it's darker yellow you are probably dehydrated. On the plus side, it does force you to take the recommended breaks from sitting in front of a screen.

bamboozled 2y ago

I used to have a 1L water bottle and I asked my manager for a water cooler, which had a bunch of benefits, it was never as dramatic as you make it sound.

plasma_beam 2y ago

On the flip side, when you get up and go off camera or turn camera off in a small video call (few participants), it feels awkward to get up and leave and I usually hold it and suffer through it. In person for some reason it felt less awkward to excuse yourself for a few minutes. Not to mention I always leave the airpods in when I go now and have to triple check I’m on mute :)

__MatrixMan__ 2y ago
In a pinch like that I'll just put "brb" in the chat, turn off mic and camera, and take the laptop with me.
lynndotpy 2y ago
I have a five-step ritual. 1. Mute myself. 2. Double check I am muted. 3. Ask, "Can anyone hear me?" 4. Ask, "Can anyone hear me?" again, louder. 5. State, "I'm about to urinate." Increasingly embarrassing failsafes, but not as embarrassing as broadcasting a bathroom break. I'm happy that I never needed anything past layer 2.
- mordechai9000 2y ago
  My old headset would disconnect at random. It had its own physical mute button. At some point, Teams decided to switch microphones for me without telling me. So when the headset came back online, Teams continued using the built in laptop mic. Fortunately I wasn't doing anything embarrassing. Someone asked where some background noise was coming from. I said "not from me, I'm on mute". And several people said "no you're not!"
- prettyStandard 2y ago
  I mentioned this because of the ongoing anti-Samsung thread. I've always avoided Samsung but caved on the folding phones. I haven't really tried out any other phones lately, but I really like their buttons to disable the microphone and camera for this. Not sure if it's Samsung or stock Android at this point. Also I just got an update their adaptive battery protection is something I have been wanting.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- plasma_beam 2y ago
  I’d debate you on 5. That may be more embarrassing.

jader201 2y ago

Not to start a tangent, but the problem here has less to do with WFH vs. RTO (I’ve been 100% WFH for 10 years, FWIW), and more to do with meetings. People that have calendars packed with meetings will have a hard time with bio breaks regardless of where they work. I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that has a culture of minimal meetings for ICs (I probably average 4-6 hours per week), so bio breaks aren’t an issue. But I should still be better about hydrating. I do better than some, but could still do better (probably 80 oz. per day).

kjkjadksj 2y ago
With wfh I could be in meeting and just mute and shut video off while I relieve myself. If someone asks me to chime in during the act I could pinch off and be on the mic in 30 seconds.
- throwanem 2y ago
  The real most dangerous game.
- anyfoo 2y ago
  I agree with what you've said before, but I still usually wait for the meeting to be over when working from home. The fear of accidentally unmuting, or not having muted correctly to begin with, is too high. It's an expected value thing: The failure case is unlikely, but when it hits, it hits awkwardly. (While also not being the end of the world, which factors into me saying "usually".) It is however unequivocally true that I much, much prefer going to the bathroom at home.
  - kjkjadksj 2y ago
    Even if the camera was on not like its directed at the action anyhow. Laptop might be set down in the hallway outside the door or on the sink.
    - anyfoo 2y ago

bobthepanda 2y ago

I really don't understand grown people who don’t have the decency to at least lift the toilet seat to pee when standing. The public bathrooms in Japan on the other hand are a fantastical heaven.

aeonik 2y ago
A lot of dudes legitimately don't know that's what it's for, or they don't understand just how many little splashes happen, or are too grossed out to touch public toilets, therefore feed into the spiraling feedback of desecration.
- mordechai9000 2y ago
  A lot of dudes will actively deny that they splash at all.
- SoftTalker 2y ago
  Just lift the seat with your foot if you don't want to touch it. And (at least in the mens room) leave the seat up unless you need it, and if you use it, put it up when you're done. That keeps it clean for the next person.

SoftTalker 2y ago

If you're drinking so much water that you urgently have to pee once an hour you might be over doing it. You can overhydrate. Your urine should be a light straw color. If it's totally clear you might be overhydrated. If it's darker yellow you are probably dehydrated. On the plus side, it does force you to take the recommended breaks from sitting in front of a screen.