Why toilets are a window into a workplace culture

I once skipped into, and got jeered out of, a meeting of facilities and operations managers. I was excited to include them in our mission to dismantle cultures of shame, embarrassment and misinformation that have hung around the menstrual cycle forever. The reason I was there was to talk about toilets. Because when it comes to changing cultures around the menstrual cycle, there is no better place to start. It’s not just the psychological and social environments that influence the culture of a workplace, it’s also the built and material environments. Its why we have inspirational slogans in the foyer, nature-inspired quiet spaces or chalkboard walls for greater creativity in breakout rooms. But the same people who convene committees about what slogan (in what font) to have on the wall, or how to design the hot desk layout, are often reluctant to talk about, or take accountability for toilets. It’s not sexy, and as far as they are concerned, it’s offensive to think they are in charge of them. But I talk to everyone about toilets, from CEOs to factory floor staff. It’s not about feeling offended because you think I am suggesting you go and empty the period product bin, its about seeing the spaces around us as opportunities to support equality.

 When I had a slipped disc, I was provided with a workplace assessment, and some modified office equipment to allow me to have an equal opportunity to be able to fulfil my workload as someone else who’s back was fine, and to ensure my health and wellbeing at work When a colleague reported he had a peanut allergy we became very considered as a team about catering choices and even our home-made lunches, to ensure he had an equal opportunity to be at work and not be at risk of hospitalisation, and to ensure his health and wellbeing at work. So the fact that every person who has a monthly period isn’t given an equal opportunity as the next person to be at work and be provided with everything they need when they visit the bathroom, seems bonkers. 

 Because so many workplaces don’t get the basics right when it comes to taking the stress out of our monthly cycle. When a man goes to the toilet, he needs a vessel to go in (a urinal or a toilet in the UK), and if he’s done a poo, he’ll need some toilet roll. But for a woman, a vessel and some toilet roll are rarely enough. At any one time, 800 million girls and women world-wide are on their period, and what a woman needs at this time is a vessel to go to the loo in, always toilet roll (not just for a number 2), somewhere safe and hygienic to dispose of her used period products, or a sink and soap to empty and wash out her reusable period products. If she doesn’t have period supplies with her, she’ll also need a period product on hand to manage her bleeding. 

 Although lots of women carry spare supplies with them, in a poll (by #freethetampons) 86% of American women said they’ve started their period unexpectedly in public without the supplies they need. Plus, periods aren’t always predictable and on time, and in particular, during the perimenopause in our 40’s, cycles become irregular, periods come on suddenly, and can be much heavier than usual. In a survey by period product brand TOTM, 80% said their office didn’t have period product vending machines and 88% have used toilet paper at work when they had no period product with them. According to Hey Girls, 68% of people who got their period at work left immediately if they didn’t have the right product to hand.

 When workplaces are trying their best to maximise productivity whilst also balancing employee wellbeing, I can assure you that having a workplace that doesn’t consider people who menstruate is impacting both. Productivity plumets when you have come on your period and all you have is some scrunched up toilet roll to manage it. You end up going to the toilet every 5 minutes to check its still in place and that you are not leaking, and the rest of the time you are worrying about it. Maybe you spend half the day anxiously building up the courage to ask the co worker you trust the most, or who looks like they might buy organic tampons, if she has one on her, or maybe, as the data suggests, you have to leave work completely, to buy products.

 Two things crop up as barriers when it comes to making sure there are period products in every toilet cubicle in workplaces. Everyone who owns a budget freaks out about it being them having to cover the cost, and how expensive it will be. Although in 1984 NASA famously sent 100 tampons into space for a Sally Ride’s seven-day space flight (just to be ‘safe’), women typically only take what they need, until they get home to their own supplies. The cost of this, even if women exclusively used products from work during their periods can be less than ￡5 per person, per year. That’s less than offices spend per person to have a free-vending coffee machine in the workplace. 

 The other barrier is the logistics – who is in charge of keeping these period products topped up? Take your pick. You can order subscription boxes, like the ones from Hey Girls who base what they send on how many of your workforce would use the provision, and how many cubicles you have. Or maybe you leave a note with the free products that say ‘if this box looks like it’s running low, please let Emma know’.  Or if you ask around the office, you might find a dozen people who take a month each to be responsible for checking that supplies stay topped up (I mean, we don’t ask all the water drinkers to take a month keeping an eye on when to replace the water cooler bottle, but anyway…). 

 Creating menopause policies, opening up conversations about menstrual cycles and how they impact women, and removing the silence and shame around periods at work are fantastic steps companies are taking to allow women equal opportunities to show up and fulfil their potential at work. But I suggest that whilst you wait for HR to sign off the policies and for cultural shifts to emerge, you go and check out the toilets.