Forget Free Lunch: Why Workers Want a Bidet in the Office

A bidet helped seal the job

Seungmin Hong was weighing whether to stay at Tesla when he interviewed at Simbe’s San Francisco office. He asked to use the restroom and found a bidet, a familiar fixture from his childhood home.

Hong said the discovery made him think the company cared about its employees. He accepted the job, though he has since left Simbe to build his own startup, Simantic. While he and his cofounder are staying in an Airbnb during Y Combinator, they cannot install a bidet because modifications are not allowed.

Employees make the case

Michael Fiore sometimes turned his car around during his commute to use the bidet at home. About a year ago, he decided to install one at work. Fiore, president of Smith’s Gardentown in Wichita Falls, Texas, called the change a “total game changer.”

This past summer, Cynthia Howard asked her boss to add a bidet to the single-seat restroom she shares with about a dozen colleagues at Swifthouse, a logistics company outside Philadelphia. She said it could reduce toilet paper costs and time spent in the restroom, while improving morale.

Swifthouse founder and CEO Dave Harriger said Howard’s argument persuaded him to order a $60 bidet attachment that day. He said he was pleased that Howard and other employees liked it, though he had not become a bidet user himself.

Interest grows beyond homes

Toto said cumulative global sales of its Washlet bidets passed 70 million units last year, compared with 50 million in 2019. Well-known fans include Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani, actor Janelle James and New York mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Bidet manufacturers Strang and Justin Allen, CEO of Tushy, said workplaces remain a small but growing part of the business. Allen said Tushy’s shared office restroom in Brooklyn draws employees from neighboring companies, and a FedEx driver regularly stops there during his route.

Practical hurdles and workplace dignity

Office installation can be difficult: some bidets need plumbing modifications, code compliance and a nearby electrical outlet. More expensive models, costing thousands of dollars apiece, can include warm-water sprays, air dryers, deodorizers and Bluetooth speakers.