We all know bathroom breaks are a part of daily life, but have you ever stopped to think about how much time and money your company is literally flushing down the toilet? In this lighthearted post, we’ll break down the costs of bathroom breaks in your workplace and why this “hidden” expense might be more impactful than you think.
This analysis was actually first kicked off by my good friend, Dennis Sommers, who passed away a few years ago. Dennis, one of the best COOs around, was always thinking outside the box, and his initial insights into the cost of bathroom breaks have stuck with me to this day.
As a Chief Revenue Officer, your job is to focus on driving revenue growth—but you’ve also got to keep an eye on cost reduction. Sometimes the hidden costs are the ones that add up the fastest. And no, I’m not talking about that overpriced coffee machine in the breakroom; I’m talking about the time (and money) spent on bathroom breaks. In fact, let’s dive into the numbers.
The Numbers Behind the Bathroom Break: Let’s assume your office is buzzing with 60 employees—a fairly typical number for many companies. Now, while everyone needs to take a break, have you ever calculated how much time your team is spending… well, in the restroom?
Here’s the breakdown:
- Average Time per Break: 5 minutes
- Number of Breaks per Day: 3 (because who doesn’t love a morning, afternoon, and post-lunch pit stop?)
- Total Bathroom Time per Employee per Day: 15 minutes
Now, multiply that by 60 employees. Drumroll, please…
- 900 minutes per day or a whopping 15 hours per day of bathroom time across your company!
So, How Many People Does That Mean? If we assume your employees are working 8-hour days, that means, on average, 3 people are in the restroom at any given time. That’s a total of 15 hours per day spent on bathroom breaks!
Let’s Talk Money: Now that we’ve crunched the numbers, let’s put this into perspective with a little fun spin. Suppose your employees are being paid $50 an hour (a solid number for an office worker). Here’s the cost of all that bathroom time:
- 15 hours/day × $50/hour = $750 per day.
- Over the course of a 22-day work month: $16,500 is being flushed down the toilet every single month.
That’s $198,000 a year!
While bathroom breaks are a necessary part of life, they do come at a cost—and it’s not just in toilet paper. With a bit of humor and a touch of math, you can see just how much time (and money) is being spent on something that’s totally out of sight and out of mind. The next time you think about cutting costs or optimizing workflows, remember: sometimes the real “hidden expenses” are the things we least expect.
So, how much money are you flushing down the toilet?
