A Reddit post from an employee in Ahmedabad has sparked a lively discussion online after the worker claimed their company had started tracking washroom breaks and counting the time spent away from the desk.
The employee, who says they have been with the company for around 10 months, shared the experience on Reddit and asked users for advice. What caught people's attention was not just the monitoring itself, but the fact that the policy appeared to have been introduced suddenly despite there being no complaints about their work.
Employee says company tracked washroom breaks
In a post titled, "My company is counting my washroom break," the employee explained that management recently began keeping track of how often staff visited the washroom and how long they spent there.
According to the post, one of the bosses informed them that employees were only allowed a maximum of 30 minutes of break time.
"I've been working at this place for almost 10 months now and yesterday they literally took note of all the time I went to the washroom and said the total time came out to be 53 minutes which is more than the average max 30 min they allow," the employee wrote.
The worker said they were then instructed to stay back longer to make up for the time.
"I was told to sit in an extra 40 min to make up for it, which is ridiculous because I've taken the same number of breaks for 10 months and suddenly they have a problem now?"
The employee added that the company is a small firm based in Ahmedabad and that they work in the RCM sector.
"It's a very small company in Ahmedabad, i work in RCM and they're acting like some bigshots. I would also like to clarify that I absolutely leave my phone at desk while going to the washroom and it is literally 10 steps away so I do not waste much time also it does not affect my work at all. All my work is completed on time with no complaints. It is messing with my mind now," the post read.
The employee also stressed that all assigned work was completed on time and that there had been no performance-related complaints.
Reddit users tell employee to look for a new job
The story quickly gained traction on Reddit, with many users expressing disbelief at the policy and advising the employee to start exploring other opportunities.
Some commenters felt the worker was being singled out.
"You are being targeted, get a new job and resign before they ask you to do it," one user wrote.
Another offered a much shorter response.
"Run."
Several people from similar industries also weighed in.
"I should have guessed before you say but, RCM explains all of it. I am also in RCM but, still no major hitt like this.. pretty sure my company will also start like this," a third user commented.
Others focused on the workplace culture described in the post.
"If it's Ahmedabad then 100 per cent Lala company. It's not MNC but a banya running a company so run away," another person wrote.
While opinions varied, much of the discussion centred on whether employers should be monitoring something as routine as washroom visits, especially when employees are meeting deadlines and completing their work without issue.
For many commenters, the bigger concern wasn't the extra 23 minutes. It was the message such a policy sends about trust in the workplace.