Unisex Toilets

Hi All,

As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself…

I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:

At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.

I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?

Regards

C.

There is a non-profit focused coworking space called Posner International out here in Denver that has unisex toilets. They have been open for four years or so and I’m sure they would have some thoughts.

I have heard from people that they don’t like them but they would have a deeper knowledge.

Hi,

we are a small Coworking Space in Stuttgart, Germany. We have
Unisex-Toilets since more then four years now. It works well. Sometimes
there are complaints, but most of the time there is no problem.

Best
Harald

···

Am 28.04.17 um 14:31 schrieb Cian Ryan:

Hi All,

As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself...

I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to
this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the
coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:

At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in
one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.

I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?

Regards

C.

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I'm curious - and I know it might be an awkward topic - but what exactly do people complain about?

-Alex

···

On May 3, 2017, 3:23 AM -0400, Harald Amelung <[email protected]>, wrote:

Hi,

we are a small Coworking Space in Stuttgart, Germany. We have
Unisex-Toilets since more then four years now. It works well. Sometimes
there are complaints, but most of the time there is no problem.

Best
Harald

Am 28.04.17 um 14:31 schrieb Cian Ryan:
> Hi All,
>
> As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself...
>
> I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to
> this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the
> coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:
>
> At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in
> one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.
>
> I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?
>
> Regards
>
> C.
>
>
>
> --
> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
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> <mailto:[email protected]>.
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Well, mostly it is about men not sitting down and then the inevitable
splashes around the toilet.

···

Am 03.05.17 um 13:50 schrieb Alex Hillman:

I'm curious - and I know it might be an awkward topic - but what exactly
do people complain about?

-Alex

On May 3, 2017, 3:23 AM -0400, Harald Amelung <[email protected]>, wrote:

Hi,

we are a small Coworking Space in Stuttgart, Germany. We have
Unisex-Toilets since more then four years now. It works well. Sometimes
there are complaints, but most of the time there is no problem.

Best
Harald

Am 28.04.17 um 14:31 schrieb Cian Ryan:

Hi All,

As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself...

I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to
this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the
coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:

At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in
one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.

I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?

Regards

C.

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Can you clarify? Are these large bathrooms with multiple stalls or just single user rooms?

Hi,

···

Am 03.05.17 um 15:35 schrieb Angel Kwiatkowski:

Can you clarify? Are these large bathrooms with multiple stalls or just single user rooms?

Sure. These are separate single user rooms, each with a toilet and a
small sink. We have three of them in our space.

I think unisex toilets are important. In many subtle ways it reinforces the sense that we are all in this together which is a good foundation to build on. The presence of a few grumbles does not mean any idea is a bad idea and even further from the truth that “the other way” is the right way.

···

On Wed, May 3, 2017 at 6:40 AM, Harald Amelung [email protected] wrote:

Hi,

Am 03.05.17 um 15:35 schrieb Angel Kwiatkowski:

Can you clarify? Are these large bathrooms with multiple stalls or just single user rooms?

Sure. These are separate single user rooms, each with a toilet and a

small sink. We have three of them in our space.

Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com


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Jacob


Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation
http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500

The ones in Denver are large bathrooms with 6 stalls or so.

I think it just catches a lot of people off guard. The community manager says the main thing is about it being odd after people have a meeting and they usually go separate ways if they are the opposite sex and then they surprise each other in the bathroom. This same surprise can happen right before a meeting. These accounts are usually from people visiting and not working there so it might be something people get over.

Hi all,

Just to clarify in relation to our situation - the bathrooms are currently shared between male and female members, there are two separate toilet cubicles (one male & one female). When I say “shared” they share handwashing facilities.

The issue is that on one of our floors there are far more male members vs female members, typically 10:1 and because of this the men’s toilet cubicle is used far more compared to the female cubicle. We don’t what to add additional cleaning as this approach is unsustainable and would only be a temporary solution.

So to clarify on my initial question, can both male and female members share toilet cubicles and not just the handwashing facilities? Is this compliant with building regulations?

Thanks for all your feedback so far :slight_smile:

It is much appreciated…

Regards

C.

···

On Tuesday, 2 May 2017 22:47:10 UTC+2, Cian Ryan wrote:

Hi All,

As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself…

I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:

At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.

I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?

Regards

C.

We have the same setup. 3 individual rooms each with a toilet. I have never really thought about or labelled them as men’s/women’s. Yes, men splash pee. Yes, women leave the toilet seat down EVERY SINGLE TIME. Ugh.
I’ve had the most success with cleanliness by introducing our cleaning person to the members. As soon as there’s a face attached to the hand that wipes the pee, everyone suddenly becomes more hygienic.

Angel

···

On Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 7:41:01 AM UTC-6, Harald Amelung wrote:

Hi,

Am 03.05.17 um 15:35 schrieb Angel Kwiatkowski:

Can you clarify? Are these large bathrooms with multiple stalls or just single user rooms?

Sure. These are separate single user rooms, each with a toilet and a

small sink. We have three of them in our space.

We have 3 separate bathrooms, all with sinks, and all are shared/unisex.

Cian asked about building reguations, and of course the answer is “it depends on your local regulations.” For example, one of the bathrooms has a shower in it (we remodeled the building for flexibility in case someone wanted to revert it to a residence in the future). I was informed that building code does not permit us to have a unisex bathroom with a shower. However, changing the sign to indicate it is a “Family Restroom” brings everything up to code. It’s a funny world we live in these days.

Glen Ferguson Tummler, Cowork Frederick
Phone: 301-732-5165
Email: gl...@coworkfrederick.com
Website: http://coworkfrederick.com
Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701

···

On May 4, 2017, 10:54 -0400, Angel Kwiatkowski <[email protected]>, wrote:

We have the same setup. 3 individual rooms each with a toilet. I have never really thought about or labelled them as men's/women's. Yes, men splash pee. Yes, women leave the toilet seat down EVERY SINGLE TIME. Ugh.
I've had the most success with cleanliness by introducing our cleaning person to the members. As soon as there's a face attached to the hand that wipes the pee, everyone suddenly becomes more hygienic.

Angel

On Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 7:41:01 AM UTC-6, Harald Amelung wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Am 03.05.17 um 15:35 schrieb Angel Kwiatkowski:
> > Can you clarify? Are these large bathrooms with multiple stalls or just single user rooms?
>
> Sure. These are separate single user rooms, each with a toilet and a
> small sink. We have three of them in our space.
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Hi,

I've had the most success with cleanliness by introducing our cleaning
person to the members. As soon as there's a face attached to the hand
that wipes the pee, everyone suddenly becomes more hygienic.

Thank you!
I like this approach very much and will do it likewise at our space.
Just today we unfortunately had someone ruining one of the toilets.
Toiletpaper and splashes of water and urin all over the floor. I don't
know what's sometimes up in the mind of people doing this. Therefore I
hope it will help if they know who is the person that has to clean up
their mess.

Harald

···

Am 04.05.17 um 16:54 schrieb Angel Kwiatkowski:

Thanks for that Glen!

Interesting to hear that a simple name change can bring a building up to
standard. This is something that I will have to investigate in more detail.
I'll keep you informed...

Regards

C.

···

Il giorno giovedì 4 maggio 2017 17:22:10 UTC+2, Glen Ferguson ha scritto:

We have 3 separate bathrooms, all with sinks, and all are shared/unisex.

Cian asked about building reguations, and of course the answer is “it
depends on your local regulations.” For example, one of the bathrooms has a
shower in it (we remodeled the building for flexibility in case someone
wanted to revert it to a residence in the future). I was informed that
building code does not permit us to have a unisex bathroom with a shower.
However, changing the sign to indicate it is a “Family Restroom” brings
everything up to code. It’s a funny world we live in these days.

*Glen Ferguson* Tummler, Cowork Frederick
Phone: 301-732-5165
Email: gl...@coworkfrederick.com <javascript:>
Website: http://coworkfrederick.com
Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701
<Facebook; <http://twitter.com/CoworkFrederick&gt;
<http://www.yelp.com/biz/cowork-frederick-frederick&gt;
<http://instagram.com/CoworkFrederick&gt; <http://wiseintro.co/glenferguson&gt;

On May 4, 2017, 10:54 -0400, Angel Kwiatkowski <fcco...@gmail.com > <javascript:>>, wrote:

We have the same setup. 3 individual rooms each with a toilet. I have
never really thought about or labelled them as men's/women's. Yes, men
splash pee. Yes, women leave the toilet seat down EVERY SINGLE TIME. Ugh.
I've had the most success with cleanliness by introducing our cleaning
person to the members. As soon as there's a face attached to the hand that
wipes the pee, everyone suddenly becomes more hygienic.

Angel

On Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at 7:41:01 AM UTC-6, Harald Amelung wrote:

Hi,

Am 03.05.17 um 15:35 schrieb Angel Kwiatkowski:
> Can you clarify? Are these large bathrooms with multiple stalls or just
single user rooms?

Sure. These are separate single user rooms, each with a toilet and a
small sink. We have three of them in our space.

--
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My first thought is to check the building code. Your first obligation is to make sure you meet the minimum number of fixtures per sex. If making changes to your current fixture count violates the code, then it’s a moot point. If, however, you can make changes, then I say go for it. After all, I think one of the tenents of coworking is to be inclusive. People resist change, even if it is an improvement. Give it time, and people will get used to it. After all, the bathrooms in their homes are unisex… it’s not a big deal.

···

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 3:47:10 PM UTC-5, Cian Ryan wrote:

Hi All,

As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself…

I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:

At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.

I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?

Regards

C.

I agree.

···

As an architect, I know the codes generally dictate what equal number of fixtures across both genders. But given various other issues, like a family bathroom, other genders, nursing, etc, at least one unisex can be useful. …and the codes generally allow for reducing the total fixture count by using a unisex to double count.

Jerome, architect

www.BLANKSPACES.com

On Jun 26, 2017, at 7:36 AM, Maureen Soules [email protected] wrote:

My first thought is to check the building code. Your first obligation is to make sure you meet the minimum number of fixtures per sex. If making changes to your current fixture count violates the code, then it’s a moot point. If, however, you can make changes, then I say go for it. After all, I think one of the tenents of coworking is to be inclusive. People resist change, even if it is an improvement. Give it time, and people will get used to it. After all, the bathrooms in their homes are unisex… it’s not a big deal.

On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 3:47:10 PM UTC-5, Cian Ryan wrote:

Hi All,

As this is my first post let me briefly introduce myself…

I have recently started working with TAG as a Facility Manager. Prior to this I had been working for a retail company in Ireland - so the coworking concept is new for me :slight_smile:

At the moment I am currently investigating possible unisex toilets in one of our campuses, but some of our members are not so keen.

I would be interested to here if others have faced a similar situation?

Regards

C.

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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