February 27, 2026 at 7:48 am

Call Center Employee Was In The Middle Of The Call When His IBS Flared Up, So He Hung Up Immediately To Avoid A Disastrous Accident

by Heide Lazaro

Call center employee having stomach ache

Freepik/Reddit

Workplaces rarely account for real human emergencies.

The following story involves a man who worked at a call center when a sudden IBS flare hit during live customer calls.

With no time to explain, he disconnected to avoid a stinky and messy disaster at his chair.

But he thought what happened next was unfair and unreasonable.

Read the full story below for all the details.

Can’t hang up for ANY reason…

This is a fun little story.

I worked at a call center for almost six years before I finally got fed up with it.

The straw that broke the camel’s back occurred when I had to disconnect a couple of calls.

Due to my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) flaring up in the middle of helping them.

This man felt like it was coming right away!

I normally could let them know what was happening.

But in these two cases, it was coming and coming now.

If I didn’t get to the restroom, I’d have to buy a new chair and go home to change my pants.

I had an FMLA case for this as well to protect me.

So his supervisor wrote him up.

But this didn’t stop my supervisor from writing me up.

During the meeting, she said, “There is no reason to hang up on a member, EVER!”

She said it in a very condescending tone.

So I replied with, “Ok, next time, I’ll be sure to just relieve myself right in the chair.

And cause a biohazardous work environment.”

Let’s check out the comments of other people.

He should have contacted a lawyer, advises this person.

Screenshot 2026 01 21 at 10.47.04 AM Call Center Employee Was In The Middle Of The Call When His IBS Flared Up, So He Hung Up Immediately To Avoid A Disastrous Accident

Or perhaps take the call on the toilet. Lol.

Screenshot 2026 01 21 at 10.47.30 AM Call Center Employee Was In The Middle Of The Call When His IBS Flared Up, So He Hung Up Immediately To Avoid A Disastrous Accident

This user can totally sympathize.

Screenshot 2026 01 21 at 10.48.07 AM Call Center Employee Was In The Middle Of The Call When His IBS Flared Up, So He Hung Up Immediately To Avoid A Disastrous Accident

Here’s a clever idea!

Screenshot 2026 01 21 at 10.48.49 AM Call Center Employee Was In The Middle Of The Call When His IBS Flared Up, So He Hung Up Immediately To Avoid A Disastrous Accident

Finally, this one lasted only 7 months in a call center.

Screenshot 2026 01 21 at 10.49.16 AM Call Center Employee Was In The Middle Of The Call When His IBS Flared Up, So He Hung Up Immediately To Avoid A Disastrous Accident

Some policies are firm, but stomach problems can be firmer.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.