"Am I Being an Old-School Boss for Telling a New Hire to Say Something Before Going to the Bathroom Every Hour?" [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News] A worker has sparked debate after sharing a story about a new employee whose frequent bathroom breaks, once or twice an hour, were disrupting work.

On the 27th of last month, a post titled "Am I being an old-school boss if I tell someone to say something before going to the bathroom?" appeared on the workplace community Remember.
The writer, identified as A, began by saying, "I'm actually on the younger side among team leaders in terms of age. But a team member who joined two or three months ago goes to the bathroom constantly, and it's driving me crazy."
He continued, "You might think, 'What am I supposed to do about someone going to the bathroom?' But the problem is that this person leaves the desk without saying anything whenever anything needs to be done. If you think about it, we don't always announce when we're going to the bathroom, so of course people just go."
He added, "The problem is that they go too often and are never at their desk when needed. If something happens while they're away, I have to explain it all over again."

A said, "Because it's a sensitive issue, I called them aside once and asked about it. They said they go to the bathroom because they feel anxious due to irritable bowel syndrome. I looked it up and saw that there isn't even a complete cure, so I tried to understand. At first it was just annoying, but now I'm getting angry at that team member, and I'm starting to dislike myself for it."
He went on, "They go to the bathroom far too often, to an unreasonable degree. Sometimes it's once an hour, sometimes twice. Am I being too harsh about a natural bodily function? If I tell the team member to let me know every time they go to the bathroom, am I being too much of an old-school boss? At this point, I even wonder if I should just become one."
Reactions from netizens who saw the story were divided.
Some said, "You could end up being called a difficult old-school boss, but that employee really is going too far," "Frequent bathroom trips can become a habit," and "If it's affecting work, they need to recognize it and manage it themselves."
Others argued, "You could be reported for workplace harassment," "Yes, that is old-school behavior. You shouldn't interfere just because an employee is not feeling well and needs to use the bathroom," and "You're getting irritated because the team member isn't at their desk when you give verbal instructions. Try sending work instructions by email or messenger instead."
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