I understand the need for corporate to trim the fat.

In the two years I’ve been with my company, we’ve gone from being a husky male to emaciated.

There’s no more personnel to cut, so corporate is trying to become more creative. But last month they went further than thought possible and I learned a few things along the way.

There was no formal announcement, but I quickly noticed there was a change. The bathroom started to smell like a truck stop.

I went to the piece of paper that always existed, but I never read: The cleaning log for the bathroom. Honestly, it was the first time I referenced this piece of paper and I noticed it was pretty much unaltered…nobody had cleaned in days.

Paper towels everywhere, a clogged sink and a stench that gives me nausea just thinking about it. Within days the office was in an uproar. A director informed us of the cutback, which didn’t go over well.

I noticed the entire office was complaining. So that left me thinking: Who are the hypocrites? People are treating that bathroom like Woodstock and have the gall to complain? I seriously wanted to know who clogged a sink with paper towels and then was salty about it.

It didn’t last long. I’m sure once the directors started having to break the seal at work they realized third-world standards weren’t far away. Daily cleanings resumed shortly after the mini uprising.

Moral of the story? I guess you can choose:

A. Don’t freak out when you see the little yellow sign notifying you the bathroom is temporarily closed. It’s better than what I had to go through.

B. You work with some nasty people. Don’t forget that. Keep the sanitizer close and I’d suggest minimizing your work bathroom use, if you’re not already.

C. If you’re a corporate guy, don’t cut janitorial services.