8 ms·

I remember, everyday I'd get dressed for work. Business casual collar shirt or button down shirt. Dockers pants. Colors were pretty dull. Light blue. Red. Gray.

I remember, everyday I'd get dressed for work. Business casual collar shirt or button down shirt. Dockers pants. Colors were pretty dull. Light blue. Red. Gray. Black. White. Black shoes. I'd have an assortment to choose from and that is all I'd ever wear. Since having been moved into a cubicle, however, where I am visible less than half the time, only seen when I go get a free drink from the fridge, use the bathroom, or take a walk outside, I have been dressing much more casually. Decent shirt, but probably less than business casual, sometimes as casual as a Pink Floyd or a shirt that I got at a concert. Jeans. Sneakers. Summer=shorts. A lot of times, I'll just find a nice casual shirt and wear it for 3 or 4 days if its fairly clean. Clothing is just the last thing on my mind when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. I know I have to do it in order to go out into the world, but I don't really care what it is. Of course, my supervisor does warn us if corporate is coming to visit for the day, for which everyone tends to be even more dressed up than usual. But that is just the way our office is. I've worked around the United States.. it seems like the East Coast and Midwest are slightly more strict in wanting people to dress business casual, and be clean-shaven, while the West Coast and Mountain areas are more lenient, and doesn't even seem to mind a mustache or beard, though either should be somewhat groomed. East Coast/Midwest: tattoos should be covered. West Coast/Mountains: tattoos are okay as long as they are not offensive. Just today, I walked into Walmart, and a guy who looked like the manager is loaded up to his neck in tattoos. I don't remember ever seeing that when I lived on the East coast.

acchow 9y ago
> East Coast/Midwest: tattoos should be covered. West Coast/Mountains: tattoos are okay as long as they are not offensive. California: Anything goes. I've seen people walking around barefoot in the office. I have yet to see anyone completely nude at work tho, though plenty on the streets of SF.
- WalterBright 9y ago
  I wouldn't allow barefoot in the office, just because of lawsuits if someone steps on something like a tack.
  - GuiA 9y ago
    Walking barefoot has 2 fairly immediate effects: the skin under your feet becomes much thicker and tough; and your step becomes much lighter and reactive. If you stepped on a tack barefoot, it'd hurt a bit, but it most likely wouldn't pierce through your foot like it would the sole of the shoe, because your foot is much more aware with what it's walking on, and you don't slam down your feet on the ground as much as you walk around. Putting rigid shoes on your feet is like stuffing your nose with cotton - you're completely blocking a very sensitive organ to the rest of the world. All this just to say: people who walk barefoot every day are not worried of stepping on tacks :)
    - redblacktree 9y ago
      You're the guy who's barefoot in the office, aren't you?
      - throwanem 9y ago
        I ran all over Creation barefoot as a kid. He's not wrong. Your feet toughen up, and you're aware of what you step on. On the other hand, I've worn work boots since high school, and wouldn't give them up. (Literally! Uniform required penny loafers or better. I got chewed out more times...) Callused soles won't save you on sun-hot asphalt or gravel, and knowing what you're stepping on won't do you a lick of good when 120 pounds of server and handcart run over your toes.
    - WalterBright 9y ago
      > people who walk barefoot every day are not worried of stepping on tacks :) As a manager, I wouldn't be worried about them being worried. I'd be worried about them suing the company if they injure their foot.
      - acchow 9y ago
        Get them to sign some sort of liability clause. I imagine even that wouldn't be necessary. Any judge would throw out the case immediately - you probably wouldn't even need to hire a lawyer.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- coredog64 9y ago
  I'm waiting for the minimum dress code to be "Koteka".
  - saiya-jin 9y ago
    UN in NY is ahead of rest: http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/5346108_fbimg1495211821704_jpeg4ef23171bb630acf0a2756b4e2005aac http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/5346108_fbimg1495211821...
kasey_junk 9y ago
Is it possible you've worked out west and in the mountains more recently than east coast/midwest? I ask because I've worked in a lot of different cultures in the midwest, from banks to startups, and tattoos are not an issue in any of them. 15 years ago that wasn't so true but in the last 7 or 8 for sure I've never seen it be an issue. Facial hair hasn't been an issue ever in my experience.
zensavona 9y ago
That part about tattoos strikes me as very odd. I live in Australia and have both of my arms fairly covered in tattoos, no job I've ever had has asked me to cover them, even as a travel agent.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
  That's because it isn't true anywhere in American tech. Maybe in some lower level service jobs but you'd usually just be discriminated against before getting the job if management didn't like the tats.
- creepydata 9y ago
  How old are you? I'm almost 40. It used to be visible tattoos and piercings meant you were unemployable in most "mainstream" jobs. Same with odd colored hair or other unconventional appearance. I remember the "rule of thumb" was it was ok to get tattoos on your sleeves because you could always cover them up for work. Tattoos are mainstream now so not so they are much more accepted at the workplace now. I remember I was really surprised the first time I saw someone with a facial piercing working a customer service job, it was at CVS.
  - mrcsparker 9y ago
    Growing up in Texas it seemed like most C-level people had at least one tattoo. A lot of them were vets so they would typically be eagles or flags. I have a theory that the mainstreaming of tattoos comes from the greatest generation. They were the generation who fought the Nazis and came back with markings showing their loyalty to their country and the people they served with. I am the same age as you. I don't remember any boomer parents with tattoos. I wonder if our kids and grandkids will keep getting tattoos or if it will fall out of fashion
    - magic_beans 9y ago
chris_7 9y ago
No one covers their tattoos (except because it's cold) or shaves (because they're required to, obviously a lot of people shave) in New York tech offices. And, um, there's a lot of tattoos and beards among New York tech hipster types. Shorts are certainly more useful here in the summer (okay, they're basically mandatory if you don't want to be miserable some days) than in SF where it's usually sort of chilly. Seems overly reductive.
- creepydata 9y ago
  You've obviously never worked at a more conservative place. I worked at a place where tattoos must be always covered completely and beards have to be very well kept. Jeans were a hard no and they had just loosened their dress code so women could wear pants. Even the New York Yankees have to shave - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Yankees_appearance_policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Yankees_appearance_po...
  - magic_beans 9y ago
    Women couldn't wear pants!!??? Was this an airline? Or maybe the service industry??
    - creepydata 9y ago
      It was an office. I left there 12 years ago and the women could wear pants policy was new then. So it was around 2003-04 when they first started allowing women to wear pants. By coincidence (or maybe not) this is also the time when laws banning smoking in public places (bars, restaurants) first started to be passed. It was a conservative office. Customers were other business, not the public. http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/02/women_wearing_pants_are_still_controversial.html http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/02/women...
- koolba 9y ago
  Pure tech no, but I bet they'd all roll down their sleeves if they're interviewing at a financial services company.
tptacek 9y ago
Speaking from my previous consulting career (not my current one, which works exclusively with startups that don't care about this stuff): Dress code varied --- rarely, but it did --- but rules about tattoos and facial hair did not. No client cared about ink or hair, even when they really wanted people wearing jackets and ties. The companies that cared about this stuff were all east coast financial, but mostly not Manhattan.
dionidium 9y ago
My step-father wouldn't let me grow my hair out long in the early 90s in preparation for the QUOTE/UNQUOTE real world. Of course, I grew up to write code for a living where I've worked with guys with dreadlocks, full sleeves, long beards, piercings, and -- perhaps worst of all -- guys who wear flip flops. We also talked a lot about how I'd never have a boss who'd tolerate lateness. Cut to 20 years later: my co-workers saunter into the office at varying times, when they come in at all. The world really has changed right from under the generation before mine. My father thought he was preparing me for a good life. But he was wasting my time.
learc83 9y ago
> it seems like the East Coast and Midwest are slightly more strict in wanting people to dress business casual, and be clean-shaven I'm 33, in the Atlanta area, and I've never even heard of a company with a policy against beards. I'd estimate somewhere close to half of the men here under 40 have beards.

acchow 9y ago

> East Coast/Midwest: tattoos should be covered. West Coast/Mountains: tattoos are okay as long as they are not offensive. California: Anything goes. I've seen people walking around barefoot in the office. I have yet to see anyone completely nude at work tho, though plenty on the streets of SF.

WalterBright 9y ago
I wouldn't allow barefoot in the office, just because of lawsuits if someone steps on something like a tack.
- GuiA 9y ago
  Walking barefoot has 2 fairly immediate effects: the skin under your feet becomes much thicker and tough; and your step becomes much lighter and reactive. If you stepped on a tack barefoot, it'd hurt a bit, but it most likely wouldn't pierce through your foot like it would the sole of the shoe, because your foot is much more aware with what it's walking on, and you don't slam down your feet on the ground as much as you walk around. Putting rigid shoes on your feet is like stuffing your nose with cotton - you're completely blocking a very sensitive organ to the rest of the world. All this just to say: people who walk barefoot every day are not worried of stepping on tacks :)
  - redblacktree 9y ago
    You're the guy who's barefoot in the office, aren't you?
    - throwanem 9y ago
      I ran all over Creation barefoot as a kid. He's not wrong. Your feet toughen up, and you're aware of what you step on. On the other hand, I've worn work boots since high school, and wouldn't give them up. (Literally! Uniform required penny loafers or better. I got chewed out more times...) Callused soles won't save you on sun-hot asphalt or gravel, and knowing what you're stepping on won't do you a lick of good when 120 pounds of server and handcart run over your toes.
  - WalterBright 9y ago
    > people who walk barefoot every day are not worried of stepping on tacks :) As a manager, I wouldn't be worried about them being worried. I'd be worried about them suing the company if they injure their foot.
    - acchow 9y ago
      Get them to sign some sort of liability clause. I imagine even that wouldn't be necessary. Any judge would throw out the case immediately - you probably wouldn't even need to hire a lawyer.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
coredog64 9y ago
I'm waiting for the minimum dress code to be "Koteka".
- saiya-jin 9y ago
  UN in NY is ahead of rest: http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/5346108_fbimg1495211821704_jpeg4ef23171bb630acf0a2756b4e2005aac http://www.nairaland.com/attachments/5346108_fbimg1495211821...

kasey_junk 9y ago

Is it possible you've worked out west and in the mountains more recently than east coast/midwest? I ask because I've worked in a lot of different cultures in the midwest, from banks to startups, and tattoos are not an issue in any of them. 15 years ago that wasn't so true but in the last 7 or 8 for sure I've never seen it be an issue. Facial hair hasn't been an issue ever in my experience.

zensavona 9y ago

That part about tattoos strikes me as very odd. I live in Australia and have both of my arms fairly covered in tattoos, no job I've ever had has asked me to cover them, even as a travel agent.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
That's because it isn't true anywhere in American tech. Maybe in some lower level service jobs but you'd usually just be discriminated against before getting the job if management didn't like the tats.
creepydata 9y ago
How old are you? I'm almost 40. It used to be visible tattoos and piercings meant you were unemployable in most "mainstream" jobs. Same with odd colored hair or other unconventional appearance. I remember the "rule of thumb" was it was ok to get tattoos on your sleeves because you could always cover them up for work. Tattoos are mainstream now so not so they are much more accepted at the workplace now. I remember I was really surprised the first time I saw someone with a facial piercing working a customer service job, it was at CVS.
- mrcsparker 9y ago
  Growing up in Texas it seemed like most C-level people had at least one tattoo. A lot of them were vets so they would typically be eagles or flags. I have a theory that the mainstreaming of tattoos comes from the greatest generation. They were the generation who fought the Nazis and came back with markings showing their loyalty to their country and the people they served with. I am the same age as you. I don't remember any boomer parents with tattoos. I wonder if our kids and grandkids will keep getting tattoos or if it will fall out of fashion
  - magic_beans 9y ago

chris_7 9y ago

No one covers their tattoos (except because it's cold) or shaves (because they're required to, obviously a lot of people shave) in New York tech offices. And, um, there's a lot of tattoos and beards among New York tech hipster types. Shorts are certainly more useful here in the summer (okay, they're basically mandatory if you don't want to be miserable some days) than in SF where it's usually sort of chilly. Seems overly reductive.

creepydata 9y ago
You've obviously never worked at a more conservative place. I worked at a place where tattoos must be always covered completely and beards have to be very well kept. Jeans were a hard no and they had just loosened their dress code so women could wear pants. Even the New York Yankees have to shave - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Yankees_appearance_policy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Yankees_appearance_po...
- magic_beans 9y ago
  Women couldn't wear pants!!??? Was this an airline? Or maybe the service industry??
  - creepydata 9y ago
    It was an office. I left there 12 years ago and the women could wear pants policy was new then. So it was around 2003-04 when they first started allowing women to wear pants. By coincidence (or maybe not) this is also the time when laws banning smoking in public places (bars, restaurants) first started to be passed. It was a conservative office. Customers were other business, not the public. http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/02/women_wearing_pants_are_still_controversial.html http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/02/women...
koolba 9y ago
Pure tech no, but I bet they'd all roll down their sleeves if they're interviewing at a financial services company.

tptacek 9y ago

Speaking from my previous consulting career (not my current one, which works exclusively with startups that don't care about this stuff): Dress code varied --- rarely, but it did --- but rules about tattoos and facial hair did not. No client cared about ink or hair, even when they really wanted people wearing jackets and ties. The companies that cared about this stuff were all east coast financial, but mostly not Manhattan.

dionidium 9y ago

My step-father wouldn't let me grow my hair out long in the early 90s in preparation for the QUOTE/UNQUOTE real world. Of course, I grew up to write code for a living where I've worked with guys with dreadlocks, full sleeves, long beards, piercings, and -- perhaps worst of all -- guys who wear flip flops. We also talked a lot about how I'd never have a boss who'd tolerate lateness. Cut to 20 years later: my co-workers saunter into the office at varying times, when they come in at all. The world really has changed right from under the generation before mine. My father thought he was preparing me for a good life. But he was wasting my time.

learc83 9y ago

> it seems like the East Coast and Midwest are slightly more strict in wanting people to dress business casual, and be clean-shaven I'm 33, in the Atlanta area, and I've never even heard of a company with a policy against beards. I'd estimate somewhere close to half of the men here under 40 have beards.