Shorts for work in summer ?

[cyberknight]

Seen an article about whether it is ok for me to wear shorts at work so i would like the CC collectives view on this and your dress code I dont have an option as i have to wear cut resistant trousers, tops, arm guards, wrist guards, cut resistant gloves , hard hat, glasses , ear protection and safety boots as well as aprons for some jobs so im pretty much a pool of sweat all day long .

 

[presta]

Wot? You mean shorts are still available?

I don't know what's with this current fashion for long shorts, but if they get any longer they'll be plus fours. I've just bought some online, and was dismayed to find they're halfway over my kneecaps, even though I'm 6'5" tall.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

When I was working in an office there was a dress code

you had to wear a "lounge suit" and shirt/ties and smart shoes
this applied to everyone who was classed as "zoned staff" - i.e. all management levels which include IT staff

absolutely everyone had to comply with this rules

oh - sorry - except women
there was no dress code for women
it was implied that women could be trusted to dress properly without a dress code (which automatically implies that men could not!!!)

so in summer the blokes were still walking around in exactly the same clothes we wore in winter
while the women were walking around in light summer dresses and stuff

it was mentioned
apparently, when the Equal Opportunities Unit started then most common complaint they received was from men complaining about this

so shorts were right out!!


when I was a teacher it was expected - but not written down - that male teachers would wear a shirt and tie and trousers
some would change to a short sleeved shirt in summer

female teachers - as above

another school near where I taught insisted on male teachers wearing a suit - just a normal LEA school - not independent!

(

 

[Drago]

Dress code is a funny thing.

Our lot kept us in shirts and ties as long as possible because it "looked smart". I thought shirt and tie with Danner boots and body armour looked stupid, like wearing a dinner jacket with trainers, but hey ho.

What do you do, CK?

 

[Baldy]

I don't wear anything for work!

 

[Drago]

I avoid the problem by not working.

 

[MontyVeda]

Wot? You mean shorts are still available?

I don't know what's with this current fashion for long shorts, but if they get any longer they'll be plus fours. I've just bought some online, and was dismayed to find they're halfway over my kneecaps, even though I'm 6'5" tall.

it emerged about 40 years ago.

shorts, like long trousers, usually have an inside leg measurement. That's how I avoid buying hotpants in error

 

[Psamathe]

When I was working (technical) I'd wear a torn over-stretched, t-shirt old jeans, etc. including to customer sites (apparently I got quite a reputation in the industry), customers got to mostly accept it. One day I was dragged on a sales visit and had to wear a suit and had to call in at existing customer to do something on way home and I got a lot of comments (for being "smart"). They thought it funny seeing me in "fancy dress".

I always found with customers turning up comfortable as you are gives them the impression you are up-front and can be trusted. In sales meetings when sales person said something wrong I'd happily interrupt and say "no, that doesn't work ..." in front of customer ... so customer quickly got to believe anything I said, they'd end-up asking me questions rather than sales person and sales people were very happy as we'd win the deal as customers trusted they were getting truth.

So for me the important thing is to be who you are rather than pretend to be somebody you are not.

Ian

 

[Julia9054]

Schools seem to be one of the few workplaces left that still insist on male staff wearing a tie.
I'd also do away with blazers and ties as school uniform too. Not fit for purpose in today's world.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

On the point about school

The school where I mostly taught had the normal school uniform requirements with differences for boys and girls

Weirdly the girls mostly wore trousers most of the year - except one girl who always wore a skirt that reached just below her knees
every now and again we were asked to check with the girls why this was
because it is normally regarded as a signal they they are worried about up-skirting or some such thing
but they always said it was just what people wore

until the weather got hot and most girls suddenly decided the correct thing to wear was a skirt as defined in the uniform
and - being teenage girls - they normally wore it way too short!!!


anyway - this nearly always generated a protest from the boys - who wanted to wear short

one year - famously locally - the protest got out of hand and they blocked the road outside and teh Police had to be called

after that it was a bit more controlled but sometime some of the boys decided to come in in a skirt as that was allowed by the wording of the policy

We learned to just ignore this and behave as if it was normal
the girls normally dealt with it with a few comments directly copied from what the same boys had said to them the day before

One boy said to me that he would rather be hot than have to worry every time he bent down or jumped anywhere that his undies were showing!
Some girls overheard him and sniggered!

It was interesting being one of the teacher that the kids felt safe talking to !

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Schools seem to be one of the few workplaces left that still insist on male staff wearing a tie.
I'd also do away with blazers and ties as school uniform too. Not fit for purpose in today's world.

At my last job (Primary School) they were talking about a proper uniform for staff - partly so it was clear who worked there
The teachers were adamant that it should only be for the Teaching Assistants and Admin staff and teachers needed to be in business attire as befits their status
Well - that wasn't what they said but it was the attitude of "some of them"

I was a teacher and I argued the opposite but was ignored

I did notice that the people arguing for "business attire" were all female and wore summer dresses in summer

 

[cyberknight]

Dress code is a funny thing.

Our lot kept us in shirts and ties as long as possible because it "looked smart". I thought shirt and tie with Danner boots and body armour looked stupid, like wearing a dinner jacket with trainers, but hey ho.

What do you do, CK?

logistics in weld shop of a certain factory so it ranges from manual handling sharp metal parts , boxes of small parts all delivered to sub assembly areas on a just in time fashion and maybe a couple of hours each day on the fork truck unloading lorries and delivering larger parts .
this is an old video and its been updated since and its not me .....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GrnRxCzz7I

 

[Vapin' Joe]

so in summer the blokes were still walking around in exactly the same clothes we wore in winter
while the women were walking around in light summer dresses and stuff

There was a case about a decade ago when bus drivers at whatever company were told they would be sent home for wearing shorts, but female staff were allowed to wear skirts, so the male drivers started coming to work in skirts.

The company realised it was check mate and shorts were allowed.

 

[Drago]

A friend of mine left the UK teaching industry to work abroad as they found the UK teachers to be toxic and backstabbing. Not saying all UK teachers are arses to each other but I trust what they said and they wouldn't have left otherwise.

I lasted less than three months as a school governor because of exactly this sort of thing. I did wonder sometimes who were the kids and who were the teachers, such was the needlessly snidey behaviour of some of them.

So when they tried it on me I volunteered to chair four panels to hear parent complaints in the coming week, then quit with zero notice, shouting "touche!" as I ran from the building.

 

[presta]

it emerged about 40 years ago.

shorts, like long trousers, usually have an inside leg measurement. That's how I avoid buying hotpants in error

I have perfectly sensible sized shorts that are newer than that. Lycra shorts: now they're the ones I couldn't get long enough.