Office Hack #16 — The Workplace Washroom Hack
Envoy is all about making things easier and more fun in the office. In that spirit, we are proud to bring you our new Envoy Office Hacks podcast series. Every week, we deliver the coolest, most ingenious, and just plain fun fixes people have invented to improve efficiency and productivity in their workplace.
Today’s Office Hack tackles a delicate topic.
Numerous employees. One washroom.
Podcasting platform Stitcher is based in San Francisco. Their office covers two floors with only one very in-demand washroom located on the lower floor. The engineers who occupy the second floor spend much of their day walking down the stairs often to find that the lavatory is in use.
“It was dark times, really. We had to walk all the way down the stairs to see if the bathroom was being used, and then often it was, so we had to walk back upstairs, and then repeat. I suspect my output of work suffered greatly, but I did get some exercise in.”
Madison Bryan, Web Developer, Stitcher
Listen to this story on our Office Hacks podcast.
Fed up with all the unnecessary trips, IOS Engineer Ashley Kayler found inspiration in home security systems. Ashley purchased an open-close sensor monitor online for about $22.00 and affixed it to the sole washroom door. Normally used for alerting one of danger, in this case, the sensor was used to signal vacancy of the most coveted room in the office.
Ashley installed the sensor with a screwdriver. A magnet inside the monitor broadcasts a signal when the door is open or closed. Ashley installed the indicator light monitor with the help of some double sided tape on the wall on the second floor. The lights turns red or green signaling to the engineers whether or not it’s worthwhile to venture down the stairs.
“You could say this is born out of laziness but if you think about it the other way the hack was really designed to not waste time here in the office,”
Ashley Kayler, IOS Engineer, Stitcher
The hack is a hit! And completely affordable and easy to install.
“This is easy enough for your grandma to do. Literally, if you can use a screwdriver you can set this up,”
Ashley Kayler, IOS Engineer, Stitcher
Next on Ashley’s project list… a sensor that signals lunch time!
How to hack it
If you’d like to hack your workplace washroom, here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients
- Wireless Alarm System Window/Door Sensor ($22)
- Screwdriver ($5 — $20)
- Double-sided Tape ($6)
- Total cost — approx. $40
Recipe
- Install open/close sensor on the front or back of washroom door with a screwdriver and/or double sided tape
- Install light indicator monitor on wall with double sided tape or screws
- Activate battery, watch for the right light, answer nature’s call
Listen & Subscribe
You can listen to the full story in the Envoy Office Hacks podcast:
And of course, we highly recommend that you listen to this hack inside the fantastic Stitcher app itself. Here’s a direct to the episode:
More Office Hacks
If you enjoyed this hack be sure to check out other Envoy Office Hacks, including:
A mobile meeting space in a rolling room from white-hot software start-up, Slack:
And one office’s creative solution to boring office walls — the Wall of Lego:
And a social psychology experiment in healthy eating from Social Print Studio:
Or how about a robotic sales gong to crank up team spirit in the office:
And then there’s Hootsuite’s office hack: an open office turned ski village.
Never underestimate the power of taxidermy on company culture…
Pub Nub hacks its way from annoying coffee woes… to website.
Mozilla takes something old and makes it new again.
One man’s getaway is another man’s office.
A big orange slide makes getting around this office a whole lot of fun.
No office boardroom is complete without some paddles and a net.
And here’s THE perfect hack for gross office kitchens everywhere.
Here’s a hack for the kid in all of us.
Sharing praise where praise is due. Now possible, regardless of distance between praiser and praisee.
Group decisions are notoriously difficult. This hack turns friction into fun with a customized Lunch Bot.
Got an Office Hack you’d like to share? Do you know a stroke of genius that has made an office more productive or fun? You could be featured in a future Envoy Office Hack — let us know about it at officehacks@envoy.com.
