Unusual Toilet Paper Usage at Work: How Can We Address This with Our Team?

In our mid-size company, for the past 15 days, there has been abnormal usage of toilet tissue papers. We found unused papers also in the dustbin. Can we do something by means of educating or sending emails to all of our staff on this? I would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks,
Venkatesh

I feel that it could be because of someone's frustration as well. By destroying tissue papers, someone or a group of employees (though it could be a small group) are venting their anger. You may issue a circular and temporarily halt the issuance of tissue papers. During this time, observe if something else starts getting mutilated or destroyed. Also, check whether this destruction continues after the restoration of tissue papers.

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar

I agree completely with Mr. Dinesh V Divekar. First, you should try to identify who is engaging in such activities. Once you have determined the individual(s) involved, you can initiate personal counseling with them and inquire about the reasons behind their actions. Additionally, you should discuss with them the importance of paper for our environment and ourselves.

Regards

I agree with Dinesh regarding his first point. Please do not stop providing tissue papers; it's quite embarrassing at times when you just don't get them to dry your hands. You can reduce the quantity of tissue stock provided. Instead, keep refilling at frequent intervals. The best thing is to find the root cause of this.

I agree with Mr. Dinesh and Mr. Vrushy. In my view, you should follow the below steps:

Step 1: Educating Employees

Educate the people by putting a banner in the toilet like "Save Paper and Save Earth" (as mentioned by Vrushy).

Step 2: Sensitizing Employees

Sensitize the employees by sending emails mentioning that toilet paper is overused. Also, mention that the admin is closely monitoring the usage and if the usage does not go down in the next few days, then the company will be forced to withdraw the toilet paper facility.

Step 3: Monitoring Period

Wait for a few days.

Step 4: Evaluate Usage

If usage comes down to normal, then there is nothing to do. However, if usage does not come down, then withdraw the toilet paper facility for a few days.

Step 5: Communicate Withdrawal

In case of withdrawal, send an email to all employees mentioning the reason for withdrawal.

Step 6: Conduct a Survey

After a couple of months, you can conduct an email survey with employees asking them if they want to restore the facility. It is natural that all employees will opt for this.

Step 7: Monitor Usage Again

Monitor the usage now. In high probability, the usage must come to normal now.

All others have given you good ideas about the causes and solutions. Hence, let me ask a couple of questions. What is the nature of work done in your organization? It's not enough to know the size to understand what type of workers are involved. Can you tell us if there has been any discontent among workers of late?

Message for Washrooms

Humans are the only creatures in this world who cut trees to make paper. Paper (tree) is the property of the universe. Please save paper, save the universe. If you cooperate with us in saving trees, we highly appreciate you. If it's not working, consider stopping the provision of paper napkins and toilet paper for a few days.

Even I am facing the same problem with our company. I have already sent emails regarding the proper usage of tissue papers and water (the taps would be kept open). For a few days, we stopped issuing tissue rolls, but later on, we continued to place tissue rolls, and still, there was no improvement. Please help me out with your valuable suggestions.

Regards,
Mahalakshmi

The condition that you all are referring to is indeed a critical one. If you withdraw the tissue papers directly, it will be bad for the reputation of the company among employees. Therefore, that option is not suggested.

Using banners with messages like "save paper, save earth" may only help in reducing paper utilization by 10 to 20%, as we have also experienced the same situation in our company. It is a good choice but may not be very effective.

Another suggestion mentioned above was to send emails, etc. However, if someone is intentionally engaging in this behavior, the effectiveness will diminish after a few days as they may resume their previous actions.

Suggestion for Technological Upgrade

My suggestion would be to upgrade the technology and opt for a hot air box (hand dryer) solution. These are one-time investments and have a modern appearance. While some individuals may not prefer them initially, they tend to adapt over time and may even start using their own hand towels.

Regards,
Sanchita Gulati

You are aware that removing the tissue paper from the dispenser has to be done in a particular fashion. In my opinion, some employees are not aware of this. They tend to tug at the tissue paper visible at the bottom of the dispenser. When they find that it does not get released, they tend to tug at the bunch of tissues found at the bottom of the dispenser and end up with a bunch of tissue papers in their hand. Eventually, they cannot shove the unused paper into the dispenser and hence quietly dispose of it in the dustbin. Explore to find out if new entrants are the cause of this problem. The reason for this thought was that you have mentioned experiencing this issue only for the past 15 days.

Alternative Solutions

However, you can think of yet another solution which is simpler. You may consider placing a terry towel on a towel stand beside the hand wash or a hand dryer, as another member has suggested. You may have to change the towel as frequently as required, depending upon the number of people using the washroom. Those employees who are not comfortable with the tissue dispenser or hand dryer may feel comfortable using the towel. You may also train the new entrants on the usage of tissue paper during the induction process, as they may find it embarrassing to check with anybody on the methodology of usage.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

Hi all, in one of the companies I know, they implemented a leaderboard where we used to log the food wastage in the cafeteria. It worked. Can we try something similar?

Instead of keeping tissue paper in the toilet, why not try keeping hand towels? Based on your employee size, consider having 2 or 3 hand towels available, and this change should be reflected in the AF section.

Regards,
Raju.V

Understanding Employee Frustration

It is the attitude of the employees that may express their frustration, leading to anger and a casual attitude. Find out who the frustrated people are and the reason for their frustration. Are they assigned more work than their capacity? Try to resolve the matter without delay. Frustration leads to anger, and anger leads to destruction.

Accountability and Responsibility

Remember, "Responsibility without accountability leads to corruption, and accountability without responsibility leads to frustration." Throwing paper in the dustbin may be the beginning, which may get aggravated if the situation is not controlled immediately. Holding the supply of paper is not going to solve the problem. Analyze the situation, talk to the individuals, try to find out their difficulties, and provide the right solution. You will be the winner.

Regards,
C.S. Pundlik, Pune.

Several members have given their valuable suggestions. However, you have not even given a simple acknowledgment for any post. What does this show?

For the members who have given replies: The situation is a result of some person's disgruntlement. It has not arisen out of a lack of environmental consciousness. To a certain extent, Mr. Pundalik has touched upon this factor. Educating employees on saving paper is important, but it would be a misplaced solution for the situation at hand.

Defense Mechanism in Organizational Behavior

In OB, we have studied "Defense Mechanism." Destruction of tissue papers falls in the category of "Acting Out" or to a certain extent in "Passive-aggressive Behavior."

The incident could be a pointer to the organization's culture. Does Venkatesh's company have a culture of ownership?

Generally, behaviors of these types are exhibited by the lower rung of employees. Therefore, Venkatesh can keep an eye on these employees. He can keep records of the consumption of tissue paper. If the consumption restores back to the normal level by chance, then he can check who was on leave on that day. This way, he can zero in on the culprits. A thought had crossed my mind to suggest installing CCTV cameras in the toilets; however, it is too costly a solution. Generally, we keep a dog as a pet to safeguard our house. Installation of CCTV cameras in the toilet would be tantamount to keeping a tiger as a pet to guard the dog!

Ok...

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

I have seen your valuable comments on the use of tissue paper. I would like to know more about these small initiatives that can increase employee productivity and reduce company costs, directly focusing on company objectives.

Initiatives Implemented

I have started implementing the following initiatives:

1. Sending a "Thought for the Day" daily to all employees.
2. Sharing some good articles from time to time.
3. Providing inspirational and motivational paper printouts on glass.
4. Implementing a checklist for the washroom.
5. Implementing a checklist for housekeeping.

Please guide me.

Thank you.
Regards.

Dear Mamta,

The initiatives you have mentioned are good for a person who is level-headed. But what about the woolly-headed? Here, the case is of one oddball or a few disgruntled employees. What is happening in this case is the willful destruction of company property. Although the company property is not that costly, the psychology of that person is quite evident. Your sane thoughts, I doubt, will create any impact on this unscrupulous employee.

Have you checked my second comment on this post? I have tried to bring out the distinction between a disgruntled employee and general concerns about environmental issues. The issue at hand has to be seen in the right perspective, and that is what many members who replied to this post have failed to do!

Anyway, thanks for addressing your post specifically to me.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

It is amazing that the blogger who raised the query has not responded even after Dinesh Divekar has pointed it out. I am also astonished at some of the responses that clearly show that the respondents have not read all the replies before commenting.

I also feel that many have not appreciated the difference between a "toilet tissue/paper" and a "paper towel." If the problem is that of toilet tissue/paper, not providing it could lead to major problems. If it is the latter, then the provision of a hot-air dryer or towels may be a solution.

First, it might be the act of some employees or a single person. So, don't stop restocking tissue paper. All should not suffer because of this.

Second, don't view this matter lightly. It's an indication. He/She may do this to show anger towards the organization. This anger may escalate if it continues for a long period. So, try to find out if the problem exists within the organization or with the people in the organization.

Third, it's better to have a system for posting complaints in a complaint box by taking a printout without their name and solving those.

Regards,
Nizammuddin K