['bare feet' taken to mean 'no shoes' for my poll response - socks when it's not warm]
i get quite annoyed at people asserting that i'll hurt myself because i never wear shoes in the office. when it's the H&S officer, i give them a fraction more time - but normally it's just random people who know better.
i tend to counter proof-by-assertion with proof-by-annecdote ("you'll hurt yourself!" "i haven't in the last 20 years. do you have more experience?")
what i really don't understand is how not wearing shoes is "disgusting".
> I have a complicated answer which I will give in a comment
"in the workplace", "in the office" and "in the workspace" are all conditioned by the fact that I go to other peoples' workplaces (many of them, and diverse) and there isn't, therefore, a single answer.
Having said as much, for the simple majority of them the expectation is that footwear would be worn.
In interviews i always ask if sandals are acceptable. I always take my shoes/sandals off as soon as i get in. my feet dont like beign confined and will smell more if i dont. I think of it as a service to my co-workers.
There are two issues here: health/safety, and social acceptability. With respect to the former, I think it's fine to go barefoot in the workplace as long as there are no health or safety issues. For instance, going barefoot in areas where there's a danger of harmful falling objects is unwise. Also, going barefoot on moist walking surfaces spreads diseases such as plantar warts and athlete's foot. In most carpeted offices I don't think either of these would be a problem, though I wouldn't want to go barefoot in a chemistry lab or construction site.
The second issue is really one which varies from culture to culture and workplace to workplace. If your coworkers or bosses have a strong objection to your going barefoot, then it's probably best not to. Certainly going barefoot is seen as too informal for dealing with business customers. But for the normal, non-customer facing day-to-day operations of a business, I think it's fine to go barefoot absent any strong objections.
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I got told off for that once, though, under the guise of workplace security (I could slip on the wooden floors).
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i get quite annoyed at people asserting that i'll hurt myself because i never wear shoes in the office. when it's the H&S officer, i give them a fraction more time - but normally it's just random people who know better.
i tend to counter proof-by-assertion with proof-by-annecdote ("you'll hurt yourself!" "i haven't in the last 20 years. do you have more experience?")
what i really don't understand is how not wearing shoes is "disgusting".
Reply
"in the workplace", "in the office" and "in the workspace" are all conditioned by the fact that I go to other peoples' workplaces (many of them, and diverse) and there isn't, therefore, a single answer.
Having said as much, for the simple majority of them the expectation is that footwear would be worn.
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I always take my shoes/sandals off as soon as i get in. my feet dont like beign confined and will smell more if i dont. I think of it as a service to my co-workers.
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The second issue is really one which varies from culture to culture and workplace to workplace. If your coworkers or bosses have a strong objection to your going barefoot, then it's probably best not to. Certainly going barefoot is seen as too informal for dealing with business customers. But for the normal, non-customer facing day-to-day operations of a business, I think it's fine to go barefoot absent any strong objections.
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