Are Workplaces Doing Enough to Reflect Societal Change?

The report predicts the replacement of gendered communal toilets being removed from our workplaces and replaced with pod-based WCs, kitted out with touchless doors, taps and soap dispensers. FMJ reached out to its FM experts including Claremont’s Design Manager, Sarah Syson.

Sarah explains how the workplace’s fundamental role is to support its users and cater to all of their needs. “Visiting the toilet is a basic and universal human need which means that everyone must be able to access appropriate facilities with ease. Parity is essential.”. Sarah also speaks about the benefits of gender neutral toilets as we become an increasingly diverse population. These spaces help transgender, and non-binary people feel more at ease as well as making it easier for parents accompanying small children and addressing ‘line equality’.

However; some find gender neutral toilets uncomfortable, so with greater understanding of different needs for different people, appreciation that not everyone feels the same about these spaces also need to be considered. To help make gender neutral toilets work for organisations, it’s key to ensuring that all the facilities one needs are available in the cubical space – that’s the sink, hand dryer, sanitary bin as well as the toilet. Full height wall partitions and doors also aid in audio privacy, comfort and security that traditional toilets don’t achieve.

Sarah backs all of this up with confirming that gender neutral toilets are important in the modern office, but also confirms that some gender specific toilets still have their place. Ultimately offering your colleagues choice but also futureproofing their workplace as the population continues to grow in its diversity, for colleagues you may already have and for those that may join in the future.