This Is How Many People Refuse To Poop At Work

Are you one of them? - by Macaela Mackenzie

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Let’s be real: Having to—ahem—go in a public place can cause major anxiety. So much so, that according to a new survey, more than half of us refuse to poo any place but in the privacy of our own bathrooms.

Hygiene company Vectair Systems surveyed 59 adults in the U.S. and 103 in the U.K. about their poop behaviors and sources of embarrassment. In short, you’re not alone in your anxiety about dropping a deuce outside of your home, as 56 percent of people feel totally awkward doing their business in a public restroom. (And it turns out more women than men are embarrassed to do the deed in a bathroom other than their own.)

According to the survey results, the scariest places to go number two included the office, a friend’s house, restrooms where there is only one stall (yep, that one really sucks), and restaurants or bars.

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The anxiety is so intense that a third of adults in the U.S. actually refuse to poop at work unless they absolutely have to. In the U.K., 41 percent consider the office a no-poo zone except in cases of emergency.

Although this was a super small survey, this is a pretty universal fear. The ensuing smells and sounds of excretion are unavoidable, and who really wants to clue the entire office into their personal pooping habits or the state of their digestive health, right?

Still, when you gotta go, you gotta go. Next time you’re hit with the urge after your cup of coffee at the morning meeting, remember, you’re not alone—everybody’s sh*t stinks.