I’m in the unfortunate position of having to wear a neck-strangler four days a week on a new project, and so I resist as much as possible, only putting it on in the office after I arrive. I usually do this standing at my desk, but I noticed one of my colleagues heading to the bathroom to put on his tie. So this got me thinking - am I committing a faux pas by doing this at my desk?
To my mind, putting on a tie is along the lines of putting on a sweater or a pair of gloves - it doesn’t expose anything that is generally considered private so I’d be perfectly happy to do it in mixed or polite company. I want to check that I’m not violently out of sync with common (possibly arbitrary) standards around what constitutes decency. Help a clueless guy out here!
I hadn’t considered the mirror angle, actually - I’ve now got so used to tying a tie that I can do it without needing a mirror, and about 90% of the time it’s even the right length.
I voted for it depends. Our office is business casual so the guys here wear slacks and dress shirts but are not required to wear a tie. Every once in a while something will come up where it is appropriate to wear one for a short period of time, such as a meeting or a client presentation, and they’ll sometimes just put it on sitting at their desk. It doesn’t occur to me to think it tacky because it’s almost like a costume or something that they take off as soon as the event is over. However, if you’re going to be wearing a tie all day, I have a vague sense of “you *can *be arsed to put it on before you leave the house” . Not a big whoop, but it does seem a bit unprofessional. Mind, if you have your own office, close the door and do whatever you want. Bonus for you if you have a sexy secretary who can tie it for you
It also might have something to do with how well his shirts fit. If it’s too short, the process of popping the collar and getting the tie dealt with might untuck things, forcing a quick readjustment.
But presuming that you can keep yourself properly dressed while doing so, I don’t see anything at all wrong with putting on a tie at your desk.
People do it fairly often where I work. My boss goes out to play touch football at lunch and will put his tie back on at his desk after showering and changing. Sometimes someone will put one on for a meeting. I will put one on if I am interviewing so that the people that choose to wear one don’t feel over dressed. I often do that at my desk. No one cares. In fact a couple of weeks ago a group of us got in a conversation and then a demonstration of knots because someone was putting one on for some reason.
I wouldn’t do it at my desk because it feels like saying “I didn’t bother getting ready until I got here”. Almost like brushing my teeth at my desk. For the matter, I probably wouldn’t do it in the bathroom either… I’d just take care of it at home as part of getting dressed.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t especially care if someone else did it. Not enough to change my opinion of them.
Yup. Even though I can tie my ties without looking, I like to have a mirror to make sure that the end result isn’t lopsided, doesn’t have any weird little wrinkles, etc…
I do have to wear one the whole day… and it’s more a matter of tiny rebellion than anything else. I am forced to wear one, but I’ll only wear it when I absolutely have to and not a second before.
If I had my own office with a closed door, none of this would be an issue. I could drop my pants and dance about in my skivvies if it came to that, with or without this hypothetical sexy secretary… mmmm… tying my tie. Just my tie…
Sorry. In the real open-plan office world, though, apparently it’s not an issue, from how people seem to be voting.
I’ve been wearing a tie since I was seven and I still need a mirror to do it. Unless you take off your shirt and pre-tie it around the collar or something I can’t even imagine how putting one on at your desk would be rude or offensive.
Myself I’d tie it up in my car at the parking lot upon arrival, if that’s how I arrive. Of course if it’s required dress I should have it on before start of work, and if you’re in a customer-facing position you should definitely have it on before walking to your post, but I would not mind that being done in the break/lunch room or back office before clocking in.
I personally don’t think it’s offensive, but then I’ve helped so many guys get dressed that I really can’t be bothered any more by grooming in public.
Some thoughts in general.
Bathroom dude probably needs a mirror. Most guys do, even just for the quality check at the end of the process. Especially if he’s in a relationship and used to having a spouse do it for him or at least help with it.
Like **Jophiel **and WOOKIE, if a tie is part of the daily required office attire, then it does become a bit of a slobbish or time-management or “not a morning person” issue. Like a woman coming in with her makeup undone or her hair wet. Not necessarily a *horrible *faux pas, but if the office is very conservative or very formal, or this was part of a pattern of otherwise less-than-ideal workplace behavior, I could see someone getting a “come to Jesus” talk from HR about how to be a professional.
If a tie is a “sometimes” thing, then to me it’s roughly equivalent of men having their jackets hanging over the back of their chairs, or draped across a corner of the desk - they can sling it on or off relatively quickly and inoffensively when needed, and don’t have to be constrained by bulky or strangling clothing during the course of the workday.
One should get dressed at home–not at one’s desk, or in the office bathroom.
To the extent clothes say something about you, publicly pouting while acting out conformity (which is what putting on the tie at work is) is a straight up middle finger at those who want to see adherence to a dress code. Now it’s totally your right to live your opinion, but don’t be surprised if your brazen self-confidence isn’t met with commensurate respect. If the right people notice, you may as well show up wearing a tattered Rolling Stones T-shirt and manky denims.
In a perfect world, grooming occurs at home. He could put his tie on loosely and have the top button of his shirt unbuttoned, and wear it that way until the meeting.
Also in a perfect world, I would never have had to counsel someone that, no, pyjamas/loungewear are not appropriate wear for work, even if the pattern is cute and the t-shirt matches the bottoms.
So really, someone tying his tie at his desk wouldn’t make me bat an eye.
I can tie a tie just fine w/o a mirror; however, I use the mirror at the end for the ‘is-it-centered’ check.
Doing such at your desk everyday won’t get you hauled down to HR, but it is a bit classless. At least put it on in your car in the parking lot before walking in.
I don’t even think I could tie a tie while looking in the mirror; it would only confuse me. Not that I wear ties very often. But here is a suggestion. I had an uncle who was a research biochemist working in a medical school in the old south (Richmond) and was expected to wear a tie when he taught a class. So he tied a tie, carefully loosened it and hung it on the coat rack in his lab and when he went to teach, he threw it around his neck, tightened it and went off.
Follow up: One day he forgot to put his tie on and when student evaluations came out at the end of the end of the term, one student wrote, in apparent horror: “Prof. K---- came to class one day without a tie”.
