FEATURE
there is less sense of being able to ‘hide away’ in the main washroom area; less likelihood of aggressive or destructive behaviour going unheard.
This has important implications for building managers whose washrooms may be subject to vandalism, or for schools’ facilities managers who want to deter bullying in bathrooms.
School washrooms are areas where bullying is reportedly more common than in many other areas. This can include harassing pupils when they are in a cubicle. For this reason, fitting full, floor-to-ceiling partitions is regarded as good practice. This prevents other users from looking over or under the dividing walls – either in person or with a phone camera – and prevents things from being thrown or passed between cubicles.
Privacy and gender Full-height partition walls also help to main a proper sense of privacy more generally. This may be particularly beneficial for people who identify as non-binary, or where washrooms are intended to be unisex.
Comfort and aesthetics Providing a bright, attractive washroom is not a practical requirement as such, but it is nevertheless important.
Hybrid working – spending time working from home as well as in the office – has become much more common since the advent of Covid-19. As a result, many employees are used to visiting their own domestic bathrooms during the working day. That could potentially give rise to a starkly apparent contrast in conditions between facilities at home and at work; if workplace bathrooms are cold or unwelcoming, staff may grow increasingly aware of it.
This matters because, as we noted earlier, washrooms are used more often now – sometimes purely for handwashing in an effort to maintain good hygiene. Substandard conditions will therefore be noticed, and can reflect badly
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on an organisation’s brand; they may be regarded as an indicator of how concerned an employer really is about staff welfare. Poorer washroom conditions may therefore act as an incentive to work from home more often or, in more extreme cases, they may contribute to a growing sense of disaffection. Neither outcome is likely to support good workplace morale or improved productivity.
Fortunately, a more welcoming washroom environment can be created relatively easily. Some simple steps include:
• Confirming that the lighting is sufficient in all parts of the washroom.
• Using light colours on walls and ceilings to make the most of the available light.
• Using mirrors to create a sense of space and to further reflect available light.
• Choosing robust washroom fittings to minimise the risk of breakdowns and unsightly damage.
• Mounting fittings above basins to keep other floor and wall areas as clear as possible.
A particularly effective solution is to use behind-the- mirror dispensers, which enable each basin to operate as a standalone wash-station, and which help to create a sleek, uncluttered appearance. The equipment itself is kept safe and out of sight behind the mirror, which bounces light back into the room.
Design assistance These are common considerations but they are by no means the only ones that must be kept in mind when creating designs for new or remodelled washrooms. Individual designs will vary according to user numbers, available space, structural constraints and the purpose of the building as a whole.
www.dudleyindustries.com/ TOMORROW’S FM | 49
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