(Newsweek) - An insurance agent caused a stir on Reddit after revealing they were fired for using a client's bathroom, yielding support from Redditors for the difficult predicament.
The viral Reddit post was shared to the subreddit "Antiwork" on February 8 by u/tosser_tin. The post has received over 15,000 upvotes and prompted a discussion among commenters on the treatment of employees and stigmas around bathroom use.
According to Healthline, a healthy person may urinate anywhere from four to 10 times a day. The average is about six and seven times in a 24-hour period. How much someone urinates depends on a variety of factors, including age, how much one drinks a day, what someone drinks, medical conditions, medication, and bladder size.
The original poster (OP) revealed they only recently started the job working as an insurance agent going to people's homes signing them up for insurance. The person said they are in their car around eight to 10 hours a day with eight to 10 appointments a day.
The OP was recently at a woman's place for three hours while getting them, along with their two kids and her sister, signed up for insurance. The woman even offered coffee to the OP, which according to them, the company says they "have to accept" as to not do so "would be rude." So the OP ended up drinking two cups of coffee.
The inevitable happened, and the OP had to use the bathroom. Their client offered up her facilities and showed it to the OP, who used the bathroom "for like 30 seconds."
The OP continued: "I randomly mentioned to a coworker of mine when I got back to the office how I've drank more coffee in the past week than I have my entire life. Then mentioned me using the bathroom." They were unfortunately overheard having the conversation by the director.
"Apparently, this is a 'big no-no' (my director's words), and they told me I didn't have a place with the company anymore," the OP revealed. "What was I supposed to do? P**s myself or drive frantically to the nearest gas station?"
In an edit to the post, the OP revealed they called the client and told her what happened. She told the OP she would be canceling her policy and telling her children and her sister to do so as well. She also said she would call the director and let everybody know what went down. The OP even received an invite to dinner at the client's house with her family for the evening.
People rallied around the OP given the circumstances. Some Redditors recounted their own stories while others put in their two cents about their thoughts on the matter, which were full of support.
"Omg this is so dumb," one commenter said. "No one should get treated like this."
Some Redditors thought the OP should take action. "I think you should report this place," a user wrote.
People were genuinely shocked by the situation. "Unreal!" a Redditor wrote. "Well again, I hope something else comes along that allows you to pee when you want haha."
Another user isn't sure about the legality of the situation. "If the customer allowed and offered it to you, that's their prerogative," they reasoned. "Meanwhile, an employer cannot deny use of a bathroom."
While others mentioned suing the business. "If you aren't eligible for unemployment, just sue their a**es," someone said.
One Redditor has seen it happen with contractors they had working on their house. No one would go to the bathroom, and they would go six or seven hours without using the bathroom or eating. They asked their husband about it, who explained "they just hold it and don't eat because it's easier to get the job done faster, and sometimes they get in trouble anyway."
People had a lot of sympathy for the OP in the situation. "I am so sorry you were treated this way," another poster wrote.
One user brought up societal concerns. "Real talk our whole society is weird as f**k about letting people use the god**n bathroom, and that's gotta change too," they expressed.
Theories abounded about what could really be going on. "It sounds like your director was trying to find an excuse to get rid of you for someone whose commission percentage is lower," someone theorized.
Other comments included responses like, "Sounds to me like they wanted a reason to can you," and "Nothing shocks me anymore."
Newsweek reached out to u/tosser_tin for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
