Asking for bathroom breaks in the field
Hello,
I have really awful anxiety when it comes to anything work-related— we are talking physically ill when it comes to asking for a day off or a schedule change! So this might be a tiny thing but it has been an awful weight for me.
I assist with field work out in the woods about 7 hours a day. We typically spend a 2-3 hours out, then drive to the next site, spend a few more hours out. Every time, we’ve done this without any restroom breaks— not enforced, just didn’t happen.
The first few months I have been on this job, I have only been out maybe 4 hours at a time max.
We work between several large parks/conservation areas with bathrooms, both full bathrooms and pits/vaults. We often pass bathrooms or there are some within a ten minute drive off the path!
I really don’t want to go in the field unless I have to! I am a woman and really embarrassed about the idea of pants down squatting in the woods. Especially if I am on my period. I am just not comfortable with that, it gives me so much unnecessary dread. I also get UTIs so I think a lot of this anxiety stems from that!
What I am asking is: would it be reasonable for me to talk to my supervisor about stopping at bathrooms as we pass them/making time to drive to ones that are close between sites?
I genuinely have been losing sleep over this thank you