Casual Dress at work

[BrAinPaiNt]

I have an office manager who's an older lady and I asked her if she had noticed anything out of the ordinary dress-wise in the office. She had. (turns out everyone in the office took notice) So I had her take the girl aside and tell her privately in a "motherly" fashion that she probably shouldn't be showing so much skin at work. I'm sure she was somewhat embarrased, but hopefully it nipped the situation in the bud and kept things from getting too out of line.

Glad you had a co-worker do that as it seems like you are still thinking about some stuff :laugh1:

 

[Hoov]

We have a very loose dress code here at my company... biz casual Mon-Thurs and casual on Friday. But it always seems like there's someone who's pushing the limits, so I can sympathize with drawing a line.

It's a difficult thing to deal with as a manager, because you don't want to be a dick about it, but at the same time, if you're trying to maintain some semblance of a professional environment, you don't want to let too much slide.

That said, your director handled that situation very unprofessionally IMO, Hoov. If he had a problem, he should have addressed you about it privately and told you specifically what he thought was inappropriate.

We just had an incident in our office with a new employee who is just out of college. She showed up one day wearing a shirt that was, for all purposes, BACKLESS! Now I'm a red-blooded American boy and she did look fetching, but I know inappropriate office attire when I see it. I didn't know how to address it, though, because she's new and I didn't want to embarras her. Plus, since I'm a guy, I didn't want it to seem like I was ogling her. :

I have an office manager who's an older lady and I asked her if she had noticed anything out of the ordinary dress-wise in the office. She had. (turns out everyone in the office took notice) So I had her take the girl aside and tell her privately in a "motherly" fashion that she probably shouldn't be showing so much skin at work. I'm sure she was somewhat embarrased, but hopefully it nipped the situation in the bud and kept things from getting too out of line.

I guess my point is that a company has every right to set it's standards, but that they should be set in a clear matter, and transgressions should be handled with tact rather than by calling someone out in public just to embarrass them. If your company doesn't want people wearing jeans, then it should forbid them in it's dress code. If it did, then you'd know.

Just for kicks, the next time the director's coming into the office, you should wear a tux or something over the top like that.

Yeah, that would be great, i just never know when she is coming to our unit.

Oh, there is no stated dress code, thats what makes it so odd, the dress cose she refers to only exists in her own traditionally set mind.

The nutritionist who worked this job before me wore scrubs and sneakers every day cause she didnt want to get bleach or blood on her good clothes (definitely a possibility as i do talk to patients during their dialyis treatments)

How can you get more casual than scrubs ?

Good points regarding management though.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The "good" companies understand that most engineers are a different breed of people. @ Boeing, the lights were dimmed to prevent monitor glare and we had free eats, our area looked like a modernized cave, lol. Throw in a pair of shorts in the summer then you have pure nirvana, lol.

BTW, you haven't lived until you saw the pale knobby knees of a stress engineer whose idea of physical activity is finding the remote control before Scifi’s channel Star Trek marathon. .

You know I get that people want things to look professional and in doing so try to promote a professional feeling by wearing the clothes instead of casual.

But if there is a case where your job normally does not include anyone coming in or dealing with other people besides your co-workers then in most cases I think a dress code can be a little looser. And as with where I work if I have someone coming in for a meeting or if I have to go to a meeting at the state then I can dress up, but for me to be answering emails, talking on the phone or working on fixing computers there really is no need to dress up and I would hate to have a nice dress shirt or something getting dirty while I am swapping out a hard drive or getting heat sink compound on my clothes while swapping out a fan for the CPU.

Some things are reasonable...other times it is a tad silly IMO.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Yeah, that would be great, i just never know when she is coming to our unit.

Oh, there is no stated dress code, thats what makes it so odd, the dress cose she refers to only exists in her own traditionally set mind.

The nutritionist who worked this job before me wore scrubs and sneakers every day cause she didnt want to get bleach or blood on her good clothes (definitely a possibility as i do talk to patients during their dialyis treatments)

How can you get more casual than scrubs ?

Good points regarding management though.

Actually maybe scrubs would work out for you.

It is a medical enviroment after all.

 

[Hoov]

Actually maybe scrubs would work out for you.

It is a medical enviroment after all.

Im thinking bout doing that just to avoid further issues

 

[adbutcher]

You know I get that people want things to look professional and in doing so try to promote a professional feeling by wearing the clothes instead of casual.

But if there is a case where your job normally does not include anyone coming in or dealing with other people besides your co-workers then in most cases I think a dress code can be a little looser. And as with where I work if I have someone coming in for a meeting or if I have to go to a meeting at the state then I can dress up, but for me to be answering emails, talking on the phone or working on fixing computers there really is no need to dress up and I would hate to have a nice dress shirt or something getting dirty while I am swapping out a hard drive or getting heat sink compound on my clothes while swapping out a fan for the CPU.

Some things are reasonable...other times it is a tad silly IMO.

 

[jterrell]

My current place is bus casual: i.e. no jeans or sneakers, collared shirts but no tie.
My immediate Boss is a Grateful Dead fan so you'll get fired for wearing a tie before sneakers.

Bad thing is I have had professional dress only jobs a few times and have a full closet of dress clothes that now get worn only to Church. I went from having 2 pairs of khakis to now about 12. Yuck.

But funny story wise....
My first job I got fired over a dress code violation.

I had went to work with a bad sunburn and my friend worked there too. I was hassling him in the back of the place where he was washing dishes. Dude sprayed me with hot water. It was stinging the crap outta me so I took off my shirt. I was in the very back of this place and no one else around looking for another shirt but the asst manager came to give me crap for it. It had stirred up some of the young women working there so this jealous loser of a 30 something wanted to give me lots of crap and then I kinda got upset and threatened to assault him so he left me alone but the manager called me the next day and told me I was fired. doh! Oh well 17 year olds dont need jobs anyways. Football season was starting.

 

[Danny White]

Glad you had a co-worker do that as it seems like you are still thinking about some stuff :laugh1:

No kidding. If I'd have brought it up, it would have been a complete bust. I would have made a total boob of myself... a real asss No if, ands, or butts about it.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

No kidding. If I'd have brought it up, it would have been a complete bust. I would have made a total boob of myself... a real asss No if, ands, or butts about it.

Is your office nick name....Sundial? :

 

[Hoov]

My current place is bus casual: i.e. no jeans or sneakers, collared shirts but no tie.
My immediate Boss is a Grateful Dead fan so you'll get fired for wearing a tie before sneakers.

Bad thing is I have had professional dress only jobs a few times and have a full closet of dress clothes that now get worn only to Church. I went from having 2 pairs of khakis to now about 12. Yuck.

But funny story wise....
My first job I got fired over a dress code violation.

I had went to work with a bad sunburn and my friend worked there too. I was hassling him in the back of the place where he was washing dishes. Dude sprayed me with hot water. It was stinging the crap outta me so I took off my shirt. I was in the very back of this place and no one else around looking for another shirt but the asst manager came to give me crap for it. It had stirred up some of the young women working there so this jealous loser of a 30 something wanted to give me lots of crap and then I kinda got upset and threatened to assault him so he left me alone but the manager called me the next day and told me I was fired. doh! Oh well 17 year olds dont need jobs anyways. Football season was starting.

So, you were shirtless.....guess that would be a dress code violation


I also got fired from a restaurant job once.
I was in charge of salad/cold sandwiches.

Well, i went into work one sat night, and no one had been in to prep my station all day. there was no lettuce, no veggies....everything had to be grabbed from the basement, washed, cut and so forth. So the chef is explaining that someone called out, i said - you shouldve called me i would've come in early and do the prep, i had been asking for more hours and more dayshift for weeks anyway so it didnt make sense.

Anyway, they tell me i have to prep stuff as i go because oreders are already coming up. So, im getting so backed up its rediculous and wait staff is crying 'where's my salad, where's my order and so on.

Well, we had this automated machine that made this darn annoying noise everytime an order would be printed up and spit out. The wait staff placed orders from computer on the floor and they would come to my station.

So, at first im dealing with the situation and determined to catch up and get on top of things but im really backed up and its looking hopeless, then the machine starts grinding and like 6 tickets came up for cobb salads and club sandwiches (the 2 orders that have the most variety of ingredients and pain in the arse to make) and i dont even have any cooked bacon at this point.

The machine starts grinding again and more tickets spit out, that was the last straw. I cursed so loud and punched that machine, it came loose from its station and flew across the floor past the chef and cooks and down a few steps into the dishroom right when my little brother is coming around the corner. He starts pointing and laughing at me so now im cursing him out, the cooks are watching the whole thing and getting hysterical.

Well, the chef came over and sent me home for the night and i got fired from that job. That night really sucked, but looking back now its pretty funny. when me and my bro get together he loves to tell that story.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The machine starts grinding again and more tickets spit out, that was the last straw. I cursed so loud and punched that machine, it came loose from its station and flew across the floor past the chef and cooks and down a few steps into the dishroom right when my little brother is coming around the corner. He starts pointing and laughing at me so now im cursing him out, the cooks are watching the whole thing and getting hysterical.

Well, the chef came over and sent me home for the night and i got fired from that job. That night really sucked, but looking back now its pretty funny. when me and my bro get together he loves to tell that story.

Sorry but that is a funny story.

 

[Hoov]

Sorry but that is a funny story.

I knew you would like that one Brain

 

[Danny White]

OK, here's my best "dress code" story.

When my company first got off the ground, it was just me and my two partners. After a few months we moved into a tiny office and hired our first intern, and then about a month later, our first two full-time employees. All three were young ladies either in college or just out of college.

Anyway, since we were such a small start-up, we had a very casual dress code. Jeans/khakis were fine, as were nice t-shirts. Tennis shoes were also fine. The one thing I thought was a little too informal, however, was that the girls would often wear flip flops during the summer months. I'm not talking about sandals I'm talking flimsy rubber "thong" flip flops:

I thought that was a little too casual, but since we really didn't have a dress code, I would make a joke about it or two but not really crack down on anyone over it.

The other thing that annoyed me was that they would all complain about the temperature in the office. It was always either "too cold" or "too hot". Never right. Mind you we had a cheap office, so there was no thermostat, so there was nothing I could do about it.

Well one day, they were all complaining about how cold they were. I couldn't help noticing that they were all wearing t-shirts and these thong flip flops, which certainly contributed to their being cold, so I responded:

"Well maybe you wouldn't be so cold if you weren't traipsing around the office in your thongs."

I promise you that I didn't have intend any double meaning by saying that. I'm not that kind of guy.... no, really. It's just that where I come from, we called those flip flops "thongs" all the time.

Well as soon as those words left my mouth, I realized what I had said. The girls all looked at each other -- not just in disbelief that I had said what I had said, but also because they were either thinking: "Am I wearing a thong?" or "How the hell can he tell?"

I was so embarrased they quickly realized it was just a slip and we all got a good laugh out of it. In fact, it has become my signature "remember that time when you said that" story.

And, needless to say, it was the last time anyone wore "thongs" to work... at least as far as I know. :

 

[Hoov]

OK, here's my best "dress code" story.

When my company first got off the ground, it was just me and my two partners. After a few months we moved into a tiny office and hired our first intern, and then about a month later, our first two full-time employees. All three were young ladies either in college or just out of college.

Anyway, since we were such a small start-up, we had a very casual dress code. Jeans/khakis were fine, as were nice t-shirts. Tennis shoes were also fine. The one thing I thought was a little too informal, however, was that the girls would often wear flip flops during the summer months. I'm not talking about sandals I'm talking flimsy rubber "thong" flip flops:

I thought that was a little too casual, but since we really didn't have a dress code, I would make a joke about it or two but not really crack down on anyone over it.

The other thing that annoyed me was that they would all complain about the temperature in the office. It was always either "too cold" or "too hot". Never right. Mind you we had a cheap office, so there was no thermostat, so there was nothing I could do about it.

Well one day, they were all complaining about how cold they were. I couldn't help noticing that they were all wearing t-shirts and these thong flip flops, which certainly contributed to their being cold, so I responded:

"Well maybe you wouldn't be so cold if you weren't traipsing around the office in your thongs."

I promise you that I didn't have intend any double meaning by saying that. I'm not that kind of guy.... no, really. It's just that where I come from, we called those flip flops "thongs" all the time.

Well as soon as those words left my mouth, I realized what I had said. The girls all looked at each other -- not just in disbelief that I had said what I had said, but also because they were either thinking: "Am I wearing a thong?" or "How the hell can he tell?"

I was so embarrased they quickly realized it was just a slip and we all got a good laugh out of it. In fact, it has become my signature "remember that time when you said that" story.

And, needless to say, it was the last time anyone wore "thongs" to work... at least as far as I know. :

Danny, that was a funny story

 

[Crown Royal]

Whenever I have ever worked in an office, I have always advocated business dress. Casual dress is always abused, as is casual. And, though I hate to say it, usually the women are those who abuse business casual. Knit pants and a striped tee shirt is NOT business casual.

 

[trickblue]

I am wearing a navy blue Nike t-shirt... jeans, boots (ropers) and a white Dallas Cowboys cap...

Pretty casual around here unlike some places I have worked, although I do wear very nice dress-shirts at times...

I wear Dallas Cowboys attire every day some weeks...

 

[jterrell]

I am wearing a navy blue Nike t-shirt... jeans, boots (ropers) and a white Dallas Cowboys cap...

Pretty casual around here unlike some places I have worked, although I do wear very nice dress-shirts at times...

I wear Dallas Cowboys attire every day some weeks...

I like to give the New Yawkers I work with at least one Cowboy's polo a week to look at all day.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

I prefer women wearing Thongs personally.

 

[Tio]

Hey everyone, need to vent for a minute. My regional director just walked into our unit looks at me and goes "oh, is this a causal day" all snooty like. im wearing nice shirt with jeans, black shoes (no sneakers) and dark socks.

Where do you happen to live hoov?

 

[Hoov]

Where do you happen to live hoov?

Philadelphia