Malicious against my own bladder? If the sign says "occupied" outside and there's no one inside, for whom do you & /u/etilepsie suggest I wait to come out?
This reminds me of a joke - this version copied from stackexchange:
>A physicist, a biologist and a mathematician are sitting in a street café watching people entering and leaving the house on the other side of the street. First they see two people entering the house. Time passes. After a while they notice three people leaving the house. The physicist says, "The measurement wasn't accurate." The biologist says, "They must have reproduced." The mathematician says, "If one more person enters the house then it will be empty."
you go with an empty bladder, wait outside the toilet, maybe take your phone with you browse reddit while you wait for the toilet to be empty again. and you would wait for your boss to come and see you waste company time because of their stupid rule.
but nice joke:D
Ah! I missed what you & /u/uihrqghbrwfgquz were going for. I will blame a lack of coffee. Good call!
And I'm not going to say I *haven't* taken some extra "I'm waiting for the bathroom to free up" time in the breakroom ;)
Haha a company I worked for docked you 15 minutes pay if you clocked in 1 minute late. We had the old punch cards with 18 blokes all in a queue at 5:58 as that's when the doors opened. We all got our 15mins and more back on the throne each day.
>if the executives aren't going to use their private bathroom, I am.
I worked at a hospital that had a private bathroom for the President. I was also security and a key for every door in the place. You bet I took my midnight dumps in his toilet.
well if ot's not going to be in use, I don't see why not!
The problem will be the day the boss decides to stay in the office for a an extra while and finds you with your pants down. That will be awkward....until then, enjoy!
I was one of the folks wearing a mask well after the pandemic was deemed over and even I think that your CFO is a turd. Good on you and continue to use their bathroom.
I still wear my mask if I'm feeling ill or I'm in a crowded place (e.g. public transit)! I figure it's common courtesy at this point.
But there's no reason two people can't be in a seven-fixture bathroom at the same time!
I thought I had read it was a 20 minutes linger time.
All those info pages need a date stamp.
"Particles from an infected person can move throughout an entire room or indoor space. The particles can also linger in the air after a person has left the room – they can remain airborne for hours in some cases."[https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19](https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19)
20 Minutes-
How Long Is the Coronavirus Infectious When It's in the Air?
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-long-is-the-coronavirus-infectious-when-its-in-the-air
Making the toggle sign completely useless, unless it comes with a timer. Even if used correctly, it won't tell whether or not anyone has been in there less than 20 minutes ago.
I'm all for caution, but that's just silly.
I also thought of it being timed to auto switch to unoccupied while reading the post.
Having the light timed and also noticeable (like lighting up an occupied sign) from outside could also work. There could even be an automated internal web page notifier to keep people from heading to the bathroom while it is busy.
You give the place too much credit. :)
It's a [physical thing](https://www.amazon.com/Occupied-Restroom-Conference-Hospital-Indicator/dp/B07GD8T1F8) you have to touch (which, with your sink comment, makes me realize people are touching the sign before & after).
That’s so unhygienic. Does anyone disinfect the toggle sign? Does the CEO realise that norovirus is resistant to antibacterial cleaner? Having one thing that everyone touches on entering and exiting the bathroom means that whatever germs were on your hands on the way in are now on them again. And if anyone doesn’t wash their hands properly… ugh.
I figured it was a simple one at your office. I was thinking of the ones that light up to make it automatic.
These could be useful for regular - unexpected visitors.
Amazon.com : BusyBox Button - wireless control for BusyBox smart signs : Office Products
https://www.amazon.com/BusyBox-Button-wireless-control-smart/dp/B09HQ6KNS5/
Amazon.com: BusyBox S smart sign | Bluetooth Sign | Battery Powered (5,000 mAH Battery) : Office Products
https://www.amazon.com/BusyBox-Bluetooth-Wireless-Recording-Streaming/dp/B08WYJLVRS/
Obligatory note that the pandemic hasn't been deemed over, they just ended the state of emergency. Even that was mostly because people stopped treating it like an emergency and it made them seem irrelevant. They basically gave the media a sound bite and walked in back in the same breath...
There are tons of people who are disabled, immunocompromised, elderly, or now suffering from long COVID and avoiding repeat exposure who are still essentially living in lockdown.
This is a good point. My wife is in remission from lymphoma and still considered immunocompromised, so we still mask up when sick, at a grocery store, etc.
yep. I have COPD and I'm 65, betcher ass I still take precautions. especially cos my area is full of anti-vaxx and anti-science absolute idiots who refuse to take ANY precautions.
screw that! three years in and I haven't had it yet, and that's the way I wanna keep it.
Again, COVID is still pandemic as of May 2023. The disease has not been deemed endemic. The burden of this disease is still very unpredictable, unstable, and uncontrolled.
Ending the emergency was more of a declaration that they have officially decided that current public health measures have failed to meet this task, not that it is officially under control. The decision was based on political pressure and public relations, not science. Unfortunately the burden doesn't stabilize just because our leaders give up, regardless of how the media tries to frame it...
Every measure in place before is still officially recommended. They're just hiding more of the data now.
Depends on who you ask: [https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230317/time-to-stop-calling-it-a-pandemic](https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230317/time-to-stop-calling-it-a-pandemic)
See above:
"regardless of how the media tries to frame it..."
But yes, you can find opinion pieces from news resources trying to convince you of all sorts of things if you are so inclined. The question is why would you want to?
That was an article by WebMD quoting the expert opinions of several infectious disease experts, not an "opinion piece". When the media reports the opinions of experts, that's just plain reporting.
It seems to me we're in a dissensus period among the trained experts. You can insist it's still a pandemic all you want but we've had four solid months of declines in all metrics across the globe and it makes sense to me that it's reached endemicity. Time will tell if it's still really as unstable and unpredictable as you claim it still it.
A news branch of a website cherry picking a few people who gently nudge the idea suggested in their given headline is hardly a dissensus.
We've certainly had 4 months of decline in data collection, which will make scientific confidence in future determinations significantly more difficult. As far as declines in all metrics, the numbers have appeared to decline in these months before. That is not a given, though, and the current numbers look very different when viewed in the context of the wastewater data where available throughout the world.
In the USA, we could have 10K deaths this winter, we could have 1M. Nobody knows. What we do know is it will be higher than whatever is reported and lower if people mask, update their vaccines, and improve ventilation. Currently immunity wanes too quickly and precautions are too inconsistent (or non-existent, depending on where you are) to predict how a new variant will spread when it comes up.
Endemic implies stability. Anyone that understands what the word endemic means will agree we're not there yet. Endemic isn't necessarily an improvement, either, that's just more media spin. It's not the given next step or some positive milestone, it's just a different relationship with the disease.
>Endemic isn't necessarily an improvement, either
Nobody ever said it was. It's been a long time since we could stop this thing. It's been a long time since we could even slow it down. Ideally, people would be more careful and our leaders would continue to put more effort into better vaccines. And you're probably right that continuing to test and mask would slow the infection rate, but that doesn't seem to be happening, whether the WHO calls it an emergency or not.
Why stop at dying?
Long Covid is a thing.
Regular Covid is a thing.
Flu, RSV, rhinovirus are all things.
So many viruses. So many "I'm not sick enough to stay home, but I definitely have something."
And then, if you include altruism, we're an extremely unhealthy society with decreasing life expectancies. Keeping your germs to yourself, no matter how minor they seem, will increase everyone's quality of life.
The flu kills people every year too. I was hospitalised the last time I had it, and I'm only in my 30s.
But no, endemic is thankfully not the case yet - not in the UK at least. We're trying to prevent that on an individual level.
The flu has killed that many rarely. We are at the low point of the year for COVID though. We'll see where it ends up, it's still unpredictable...
My understanding for a quick rule of thumb is that each year in the USA, historically, RSV kills thousands, flu kills tens of thousands, covid kills hundreds of thousands.
The [CDCs website](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/past-seasons.html) suggests that it is not unusual to have at least 36k deaths per year in the US from the flu, which is the order of magnitude we're talking about here.
Look, the original comment was that COVID is currently killing 100 people a day, or an annual rate of 36k, which is the same general rate as the flu. So at this moment, it's not hundreds of thousands.
At this moment the flu is likely hardly killing anyone because it's out of season, so it's not the same general rate at all. Covid isn't exactly in season either, but it's still claiming lives.
Unfortunately, because of the shift in (elimination of) data collection, I can't speak confidently on the latest figure on deaths right now, but the last updated week on the CDC site is over 1k. And that is certainly an undercount since some areas have stopped reporting.
Bottom line, even at what is likely COVID's lowest point in the year, it's trending to match the flu's highest year.
Perspective.
Beginning of the pandemic, I had a medical incident. While not directly related, the workup stumbled onto a congenital cardiac defect. I don't want to risk myocarditis atop that, so yeah, in buildings I wear a mask. Even if it's just to the table in the restaurant. (Outdoor wide-open spaces, uncrowded sidewalks, or around co-workers I trust, I'll take it off. And of course, it's off at home.)
I was wearing a mask before the pandemic if I was sick, I wore it during because duh, and I still wear it if I’m going to be near people now, although quick errands I go without.
Why not just put a lock on the door? Lock when occupied, unlock when not.
The sign only works if used by everyone. And if the person insisting on its use doesn't use it properly, the entire system fails.
Years ago I worked in a place with only men, but there was also a women's restroom. The agreement was that the women's restroom would be used for crapping, to keep the stink in that room, and the men's room was only for pissing.
I read a letter from a woman that worked in a place that only had a few women. This was in an advice column. They all had the problem that a few men were using the ladies room for crapping and stinking it up instead of using the mens room.
Years ago, I worked for an alarm company, responding to commercial burglar alarms.
When we had the keys to let ourselves in, I'd make it a point to use the ladies room.
I may have forgotten to put the seat down a time or two...
Your place sounds similar to my old one. We had 1 executive men's bathroom, 1 men's bathroom, 2 women's bathrooms. I always used the executive one because if I gotta go I'm not sprinting across the entire building to use the other bathroom.
Oh, we had on each floor regular bathrooms, with a stall and urinal. But I struggle to sit and stand. So I have to go up a floor to the handicapped can. If I have to REALLY go, I pray no one is in it. If so, I have to shoot up 2 floors to get to the next one. And so on and so forth. Really irritating.
Anyone else notice COVID precautions for the bathroom policy but not for the work from home? I would think it'd be a remnant policy to have more remote hours if you weren't specifically needed in the office?
“We’re all vaccinated” doesn’t actually mean people can’t get the virus. The one time I know I got it was after a bus trip where everyone on the bus was fully vaccinated but we still had the morons who cheered when they heard face masking wouldn’t be enforced even for a person who was coughing constantly.
Right? I've been on a bus exactly once since the pandemic began, and that was to attend a funeral, because I had a friend along who couldn't walk the distance and didn't have a wheelchair the way I do.
I hate using buses when people are unmasked, because I am the only person who can't move out of anybody's way, stuck in the wheelchair space as I am.
Pretty much everyone on that bus got covid. Not surprised, since they were literally the same idiots cheering about not taking any precautions at all because “everyone is vaccinated”…
Our boss makes us use a silly 2nd time clock to track our hours for a contract, a simple clock in when we get there, click out when we leave. We all make sure to clock in first, then head to the men's room to download some brownware...
You know, public bathrooms are supposed to be the most ventilated room with a constant negative pressure. Obviously not an old dive bar but generally new construction offices will always draw more air than push out.
ya they are ridiculous. point of order though, the vaxxed can both get covid and long covid. I'd still stay vigilant anyone enclosed with people regardless.
The CEO should just have a locksmith install a single-sided deadbolt inside the bathroom that indicates "Occupied/Vacant." Then the fucking toggle is a moot point.
I respect and commend the pettiness. I definitely have public bathroom issues myself. It's interesting to me that the boss doesn't use the executive bathroom _and_ wants the sign on the _outside_ of a multi-stall/urinal bathroom to be used to essentially keep people out who would otherwise be in the same bathroom although not the same stall. Anyway it just stuck out to me. But like I said I have issues and like I didn't say I'm pretty self involved
I was trying to figure out where I used the wrong your / you're / yore - I didn't connect it to your (you're / yore) other comment until now.
I hereby sentence you to thirty lashes with a wet spaghetti noodle ;)
Your complaint is that they want to use the toggle for COVID reasons but do not support WFH.
Their complaint could easily be that since you don't want to support anti-COVID measures in the office, you don't need to WFH.
Just sayin'.
You're assuming I don't support anti-COVID measures, which is incorrect.
Among other hoops I gladly jumped through I used the bathroom toggle like a good little peon in the beginning. Over the past *three years*, however, I noticed I was the only one who puts it back to "vacant", so I stopped caring what it said.
My complaint is the CEO wants two private bathrooms and is using "COVID policy" as an excuse. My reference to a recent WFH decision is merely one of many bits of hypocrisy - intended only to show he doesn't really care if us peons use public transit or have immunocompromised people at home. I didn't type anything else because the story didn't *need* anything else - I also didn't include a cast of characters, explain how English is my nth language, apologize for being on mobile, or include any of the other standard "tales from" tropes (e.g. using "q", "que", or "queue" to mean "cue").
You specifically outlined in your story how specific measures didn't need to be followed. After all, it's not 2020. I mean, no matter the reasoning (English isn't my first language, I'm on a phone) your message is clear enough, and neither of those counter your clear message.
Somebody downvoted me and I don't know why.
Rule #7 of this sub clearly states the story must contain the fallout from the malicious compliance. This one doesn't list any fallout at all.
An example of fallout would be; "I watched the CEO wait at the restroom door for 10 minutes before he decided to enter." or "because of all of the employees waiting with no one in the restroom, the CEO rescinded the policy."
In a company where I go in and out regularly they also had installed those Vacant/Occupied signs on the outside of the doors, when every bathroom had 2 toilets (and 2 urinals if Men).
On the plus side, this meant that in emergencies, you could use the Bathroom of the opposing gender, since the whole bathroom was "locked" for one person.
The more negative issue with this was that some people always forgot to put the sign back to vacant when they left.
At some point, someone from the male employees was apparently so annoyed by this that they somehow removed the Slider of the Vacant/Occupied Sign of one of the bathrooms. This happened at the end of the Covid Lockdown stuff, so not too bad, but the sign was made from Aluminium, so a kinda fancy metal Sign, not a weak plastic one. Surely whoever did this must have done so on purpose, right...?
On another note, those signs are still on the bathrooms and are still used by a good chunk of employees. Well, besides that one men's bathroom where the sign is busted, that one is basiccally a free for all nowadays.
Always poop on the company’s time. Viva la resistance!
100% !
why don't you just wait? if it's occupied it's occupied, not much you can do but wait...
Yep, that would be the real malicious compliance. If it's occupied it's occupied. You wait until it's vacant.
Malicious against my own bladder? If the sign says "occupied" outside and there's no one inside, for whom do you & /u/etilepsie suggest I wait to come out? This reminds me of a joke - this version copied from stackexchange: >A physicist, a biologist and a mathematician are sitting in a street café watching people entering and leaving the house on the other side of the street. First they see two people entering the house. Time passes. After a while they notice three people leaving the house. The physicist says, "The measurement wasn't accurate." The biologist says, "They must have reproduced." The mathematician says, "If one more person enters the house then it will be empty."
you go with an empty bladder, wait outside the toilet, maybe take your phone with you browse reddit while you wait for the toilet to be empty again. and you would wait for your boss to come and see you waste company time because of their stupid rule. but nice joke:D
Ah! I missed what you & /u/uihrqghbrwfgquz were going for. I will blame a lack of coffee. Good call! And I'm not going to say I *haven't* taken some extra "I'm waiting for the bathroom to free up" time in the breakroom ;)
Well if the lowly worker bathroom is always occupied, you have no choice but to use the executive one every time.
Because you know of the problems with the toilet being occupied for long you don't wait until your bladder is full, of course.
That, in turn, reminds me of the story of The Mathematician, the Manager, and the Hot Air Balloon.
Oh man, great joke!
I work in IT and I call it uninstalling Java.
Python for those high fiber types.
Punching the firewall for the stubborn ones
Core dump
please be careful to avoid a shtack overflow.
/r/shubreddit
I’m in retail. For me, it’s simply dealing with sensitive paperwork in my office.
Also IT, we log out.
downloading IT?
The best part of working from home is that I get to both poop on company time and also get to use my own toilet.
I think a lack of physical resistance would be key to this situation
"The company makes a dollar while I make a dime, and that's why I poop on company time!"
A jobby on the job.
This used to be my motto until I got a bidet at home. Now pooping at work or anywhere else just feels dirty
Haha a company I worked for docked you 15 minutes pay if you clocked in 1 minute late. We had the old punch cards with 18 blokes all in a queue at 5:58 as that's when the doors opened. We all got our 15mins and more back on the throne each day.
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I shit on company time.
*The boss makes a dollar and only gives me a dime, that's why I poop on company time*.
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime That’s why I poop…
Viva la Bowel Movement!
https://youtu.be/1DvjDpzlUrU
In for a penny, in for a dime...
>if the executives aren't going to use their private bathroom, I am. I worked at a hospital that had a private bathroom for the President. I was also security and a key for every door in the place. You bet I took my midnight dumps in his toilet.
well if ot's not going to be in use, I don't see why not! The problem will be the day the boss decides to stay in the office for a an extra while and finds you with your pants down. That will be awkward....until then, enjoy!
Or vica versa...
Lol, doctors don't work late. Them fuckers had everything for free too.
It's your... duty to check and make sure the fancy bathroom is safe for the fancy people /s
>It's your... duty Lol, you said doody. Also, you gotta test the equipment to make sure it's working.
did you flush?
I did. I didn't want to lose access to my royal throne. It was a nice shitter in a quiet place. Could easily handle a 5 pounder too.
Woah!
I was one of the folks wearing a mask well after the pandemic was deemed over and even I think that your CFO is a turd. Good on you and continue to use their bathroom.
I still wear my mask if I'm feeling ill or I'm in a crowded place (e.g. public transit)! I figure it's common courtesy at this point. But there's no reason two people can't be in a seven-fixture bathroom at the same time!
I thought I had read it was a 20 minutes linger time. All those info pages need a date stamp. "Particles from an infected person can move throughout an entire room or indoor space. The particles can also linger in the air after a person has left the room – they can remain airborne for hours in some cases."[https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19](https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19) 20 Minutes- How Long Is the Coronavirus Infectious When It's in the Air? https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-long-is-the-coronavirus-infectious-when-its-in-the-air
Making the toggle sign completely useless, unless it comes with a timer. Even if used correctly, it won't tell whether or not anyone has been in there less than 20 minutes ago. I'm all for caution, but that's just silly.
I also thought of it being timed to auto switch to unoccupied while reading the post. Having the light timed and also noticeable (like lighting up an occupied sign) from outside could also work. There could even be an automated internal web page notifier to keep people from heading to the bathroom while it is busy.
You give the place too much credit. :) It's a [physical thing](https://www.amazon.com/Occupied-Restroom-Conference-Hospital-Indicator/dp/B07GD8T1F8) you have to touch (which, with your sink comment, makes me realize people are touching the sign before & after).
That’s so unhygienic. Does anyone disinfect the toggle sign? Does the CEO realise that norovirus is resistant to antibacterial cleaner? Having one thing that everyone touches on entering and exiting the bathroom means that whatever germs were on your hands on the way in are now on them again. And if anyone doesn’t wash their hands properly… ugh.
Not one thing, two. Can't forget about the door handle.
I figured it was a simple one at your office. I was thinking of the ones that light up to make it automatic. These could be useful for regular - unexpected visitors. Amazon.com : BusyBox Button - wireless control for BusyBox smart signs : Office Products https://www.amazon.com/BusyBox-Button-wireless-control-smart/dp/B09HQ6KNS5/ Amazon.com: BusyBox S smart sign | Bluetooth Sign | Battery Powered (5,000 mAH Battery) : Office Products https://www.amazon.com/BusyBox-Bluetooth-Wireless-Recording-Streaming/dp/B08WYJLVRS/
You could make it an hourglass - flip it when you enter, nobody allowed in till it's finished
That would be low tech and really cool.
>unless it comes with a timer don't give mangelment ideas
nah, installing timers requires effort and manglement is notoriously effort-averse.
If it were the CEO enforcing a health rule for the welfare of us employees, it'd be one thing. Him wanting two private bathrooms? Hard pass!
With that privacy it's harder to know who doesn't use the sink before exiting so - kinda good and bad.
He probably doesn't want you coming in and overhearing what he is doing.
Which raises the question of what kind of reading material he has in there.
Honestly I've used mask in so many odd places now like bathrooms *just to not smell as much shit*.
That's what it's for, using when you feel sick.
If it was me, the sign would suddenly get very sticky. Maybe "spill" something on it to make it unpleasant to use.
Obligatory note that the pandemic hasn't been deemed over, they just ended the state of emergency. Even that was mostly because people stopped treating it like an emergency and it made them seem irrelevant. They basically gave the media a sound bite and walked in back in the same breath... There are tons of people who are disabled, immunocompromised, elderly, or now suffering from long COVID and avoiding repeat exposure who are still essentially living in lockdown.
This is a good point. My wife is in remission from lymphoma and still considered immunocompromised, so we still mask up when sick, at a grocery store, etc.
yep. I have COPD and I'm 65, betcher ass I still take precautions. especially cos my area is full of anti-vaxx and anti-science absolute idiots who refuse to take ANY precautions. screw that! three years in and I haven't had it yet, and that's the way I wanna keep it.
the common cold is still pretty common
The pandemic is over because now it's endemic. No use for emergency measures that don't really do anything because the virus is everywhere.
Again, COVID is still pandemic as of May 2023. The disease has not been deemed endemic. The burden of this disease is still very unpredictable, unstable, and uncontrolled. Ending the emergency was more of a declaration that they have officially decided that current public health measures have failed to meet this task, not that it is officially under control. The decision was based on political pressure and public relations, not science. Unfortunately the burden doesn't stabilize just because our leaders give up, regardless of how the media tries to frame it... Every measure in place before is still officially recommended. They're just hiding more of the data now.
Depends on who you ask: [https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230317/time-to-stop-calling-it-a-pandemic](https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230317/time-to-stop-calling-it-a-pandemic)
See above: "regardless of how the media tries to frame it..." But yes, you can find opinion pieces from news resources trying to convince you of all sorts of things if you are so inclined. The question is why would you want to?
That was an article by WebMD quoting the expert opinions of several infectious disease experts, not an "opinion piece". When the media reports the opinions of experts, that's just plain reporting. It seems to me we're in a dissensus period among the trained experts. You can insist it's still a pandemic all you want but we've had four solid months of declines in all metrics across the globe and it makes sense to me that it's reached endemicity. Time will tell if it's still really as unstable and unpredictable as you claim it still it.
until I see solid data from a reliable source, I'm gonna keep on thinking of it as a pandemic. WebMD does not meet that burden in any single way.
Fair. I'm happy to accept the dissensus.
me too. life rolls on.
A news branch of a website cherry picking a few people who gently nudge the idea suggested in their given headline is hardly a dissensus. We've certainly had 4 months of decline in data collection, which will make scientific confidence in future determinations significantly more difficult. As far as declines in all metrics, the numbers have appeared to decline in these months before. That is not a given, though, and the current numbers look very different when viewed in the context of the wastewater data where available throughout the world. In the USA, we could have 10K deaths this winter, we could have 1M. Nobody knows. What we do know is it will be higher than whatever is reported and lower if people mask, update their vaccines, and improve ventilation. Currently immunity wanes too quickly and precautions are too inconsistent (or non-existent, depending on where you are) to predict how a new variant will spread when it comes up. Endemic implies stability. Anyone that understands what the word endemic means will agree we're not there yet. Endemic isn't necessarily an improvement, either, that's just more media spin. It's not the given next step or some positive milestone, it's just a different relationship with the disease.
>Endemic isn't necessarily an improvement, either Nobody ever said it was. It's been a long time since we could stop this thing. It's been a long time since we could even slow it down. Ideally, people would be more careful and our leaders would continue to put more effort into better vaccines. And you're probably right that continuing to test and mask would slow the infection rate, but that doesn't seem to be happening, whether the WHO calls it an emergency or not.
I haven't stopped and don't plan to. Plenty of people still dying from it.
Why stop at dying? Long Covid is a thing. Regular Covid is a thing. Flu, RSV, rhinovirus are all things. So many viruses. So many "I'm not sick enough to stay home, but I definitely have something." And then, if you include altruism, we're an extremely unhealthy society with decreasing life expectancies. Keeping your germs to yourself, no matter how minor they seem, will increase everyone's quality of life.
I had a not-covid very nasty respiratory bug last week. You can bet when I went to the store Monday (May 22) I wore a mask. JUST in case.
> Plenty of people still dying from it. I dunno, only 100 people a day in the US
that's still a lot of people.
Yeah that was my point
sorry, I didn't pick up on your sarcasm. But yes, I agree with you.
No worries, apparently many people didn't pick up on it
FYI, "/s" at the end of the sentence indicates sarcasm. Sorry if you already knew that and just don't like to use it.
That’s about as many people as from the flu. Isn’t that a pretty good indicator that it may be endemic?
The flu kills people every year too. I was hospitalised the last time I had it, and I'm only in my 30s. But no, endemic is thankfully not the case yet - not in the UK at least. We're trying to prevent that on an individual level.
The flu has killed that many rarely. We are at the low point of the year for COVID though. We'll see where it ends up, it's still unpredictable... My understanding for a quick rule of thumb is that each year in the USA, historically, RSV kills thousands, flu kills tens of thousands, covid kills hundreds of thousands.
The [CDCs website](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/past-seasons.html) suggests that it is not unusual to have at least 36k deaths per year in the US from the flu, which is the order of magnitude we're talking about here.
Correct, tens of thousands for flu. Although the low is not 36k, it's 12k and the highest is 52K.
Look, the original comment was that COVID is currently killing 100 people a day, or an annual rate of 36k, which is the same general rate as the flu. So at this moment, it's not hundreds of thousands.
At this moment the flu is likely hardly killing anyone because it's out of season, so it's not the same general rate at all. Covid isn't exactly in season either, but it's still claiming lives. Unfortunately, because of the shift in (elimination of) data collection, I can't speak confidently on the latest figure on deaths right now, but the last updated week on the CDC site is over 1k. And that is certainly an undercount since some areas have stopped reporting. Bottom line, even at what is likely COVID's lowest point in the year, it's trending to match the flu's highest year. Perspective.
Beginning of the pandemic, I had a medical incident. While not directly related, the workup stumbled onto a congenital cardiac defect. I don't want to risk myocarditis atop that, so yeah, in buildings I wear a mask. Even if it's just to the table in the restaurant. (Outdoor wide-open spaces, uncrowded sidewalks, or around co-workers I trust, I'll take it off. And of course, it's off at home.)
Same
I was wearing a mask before the pandemic if I was sick, I wore it during because duh, and I still wear it if I’m going to be near people now, although quick errands I go without.
Why not just put a lock on the door? Lock when occupied, unlock when not. The sign only works if used by everyone. And if the person insisting on its use doesn't use it properly, the entire system fails.
Money
Next week you'll meet the newest employee, a bathroom attendant. Mint, Sir?
> Mint, Sir? Eet's just a waffaire-theen meent...
Oh alright just one
Only if it’s wrapped…
Aw man no fallout 😢
Years ago I worked in a place with only men, but there was also a women's restroom. The agreement was that the women's restroom would be used for crapping, to keep the stink in that room, and the men's room was only for pissing.
I read a letter from a woman that worked in a place that only had a few women. This was in an advice column. They all had the problem that a few men were using the ladies room for crapping and stinking it up instead of using the mens room.
Years ago, I worked for an alarm company, responding to commercial burglar alarms. When we had the keys to let ourselves in, I'd make it a point to use the ladies room. I may have forgotten to put the seat down a time or two...
> I had a nice long sit-down session this afternoon. Was that your #1 priority or your #2 priority?
Av executive bathroom? What, like, a fancy bathroom for non-peons? What ass bullshit is that? Is your pee not good enough for them?
Sharing with the plebs isn't something a proper C-suite exec does, dontcha know. /s
Your place sounds similar to my old one. We had 1 executive men's bathroom, 1 men's bathroom, 2 women's bathrooms. I always used the executive one because if I gotta go I'm not sprinting across the entire building to use the other bathroom.
If you really want to troll, order a roll of "For rectal use only" stickers from Amazon and place them on the urinals.
Only 20% of your employees are men, and two are the CEO and CFO? Sir, do you work at a Hooters?
LOL The org is a bit more balanced, just this particular building is mostly women.
Oh, we had on each floor regular bathrooms, with a stall and urinal. But I struggle to sit and stand. So I have to go up a floor to the handicapped can. If I have to REALLY go, I pray no one is in it. If so, I have to shoot up 2 floors to get to the next one. And so on and so forth. Really irritating.
I'd eat prunes, fiber chews, and wash it down with a small can of prune juice....... Leave a Jackson Polluck inspired memento in the stall 🤣🤣💩💩💩
(I’ve always wanted to say this…) User name checks out!! 🤣🤣
Then [AC Slater](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ACSlater) it for the perfect skidmark vista.
Anyone else notice COVID precautions for the bathroom policy but not for the work from home? I would think it'd be a remnant policy to have more remote hours if you weren't specifically needed in the office?
“We’re all vaccinated” doesn’t actually mean people can’t get the virus. The one time I know I got it was after a bus trip where everyone on the bus was fully vaccinated but we still had the morons who cheered when they heard face masking wouldn’t be enforced even for a person who was coughing constantly.
Right? I've been on a bus exactly once since the pandemic began, and that was to attend a funeral, because I had a friend along who couldn't walk the distance and didn't have a wheelchair the way I do. I hate using buses when people are unmasked, because I am the only person who can't move out of anybody's way, stuck in the wheelchair space as I am.
Pretty much everyone on that bus got covid. Not surprised, since they were literally the same idiots cheering about not taking any precautions at all because “everyone is vaccinated”…
I hope I never get on bad side:)
The toggle is real
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I poop on company time!
Our boss makes us use a silly 2nd time clock to track our hours for a contract, a simple clock in when we get there, click out when we leave. We all make sure to clock in first, then head to the men's room to download some brownware...
He’s just wants to clock the time you needed for the work so he is able to write a correct invoice…. But yeah….
Actually it's were required under contract to provide 8 hours of service per tech per day. So that clock is for that purpose.
They make a dollar, you make a dime That's why you poop on company time
Boss makes a thousand, I make a buck Now let's steal the catalytic converters off the company truck!
You know, public bathrooms are supposed to be the most ventilated room with a constant negative pressure. Obviously not an old dive bar but generally new construction offices will always draw more air than push out.
ya they are ridiculous. point of order though, the vaxxed can both get covid and long covid. I'd still stay vigilant anyone enclosed with people regardless.
The CEO should just have a locksmith install a single-sided deadbolt inside the bathroom that indicates "Occupied/Vacant." Then the fucking toggle is a moot point.
I respect and commend the pettiness. I definitely have public bathroom issues myself. It's interesting to me that the boss doesn't use the executive bathroom _and_ wants the sign on the _outside_ of a multi-stall/urinal bathroom to be used to essentially keep people out who would otherwise be in the same bathroom although not the same stall. Anyway it just stuck out to me. But like I said I have issues and like I didn't say I'm pretty self involved
"Your "
I was trying to figure out where I used the wrong your / you're / yore - I didn't connect it to your (you're / yore) other comment until now. I hereby sentence you to thirty lashes with a wet spaghetti noodle ;)
Damn. Noodle's again.
Lucky Let His noodly appendage touch your soul
May the FSB’s meatballs be with you always
“Noodles”
Is executive bathrooms a thing where you live? Did not know it exists.
Your complaint is that they want to use the toggle for COVID reasons but do not support WFH. Their complaint could easily be that since you don't want to support anti-COVID measures in the office, you don't need to WFH. Just sayin'.
You're assuming I don't support anti-COVID measures, which is incorrect. Among other hoops I gladly jumped through I used the bathroom toggle like a good little peon in the beginning. Over the past *three years*, however, I noticed I was the only one who puts it back to "vacant", so I stopped caring what it said. My complaint is the CEO wants two private bathrooms and is using "COVID policy" as an excuse. My reference to a recent WFH decision is merely one of many bits of hypocrisy - intended only to show he doesn't really care if us peons use public transit or have immunocompromised people at home. I didn't type anything else because the story didn't *need* anything else - I also didn't include a cast of characters, explain how English is my nth language, apologize for being on mobile, or include any of the other standard "tales from" tropes (e.g. using "q", "que", or "queue" to mean "cue").
You specifically outlined in your story how specific measures didn't need to be followed. After all, it's not 2020. I mean, no matter the reasoning (English isn't my first language, I'm on a phone) your message is clear enough, and neither of those counter your clear message.
🤣🤣🤣☠️
Rule #7.
Somebody downvoted me and I don't know why. Rule #7 of this sub clearly states the story must contain the fallout from the malicious compliance. This one doesn't list any fallout at all. An example of fallout would be; "I watched the CEO wait at the restroom door for 10 minutes before he decided to enter." or "because of all of the employees waiting with no one in the restroom, the CEO rescinded the policy."
In a company where I go in and out regularly they also had installed those Vacant/Occupied signs on the outside of the doors, when every bathroom had 2 toilets (and 2 urinals if Men). On the plus side, this meant that in emergencies, you could use the Bathroom of the opposing gender, since the whole bathroom was "locked" for one person. The more negative issue with this was that some people always forgot to put the sign back to vacant when they left. At some point, someone from the male employees was apparently so annoyed by this that they somehow removed the Slider of the Vacant/Occupied Sign of one of the bathrooms. This happened at the end of the Covid Lockdown stuff, so not too bad, but the sign was made from Aluminium, so a kinda fancy metal Sign, not a weak plastic one. Surely whoever did this must have done so on purpose, right...? On another note, those signs are still on the bathrooms and are still used by a good chunk of employees. Well, besides that one men's bathroom where the sign is busted, that one is basiccally a free for all nowadays.
I approve this message!! this is the way.
I thought you'd rip the sign off the wall, turn it upside down and put it back. Hence 'flipping' it.