# Shoeless at the Office **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495 "2009-09-17T20:42:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/21 "2009-09-18T00:53:59Z")
One of the definite upsides of being in academia is that you can basically do whatever you want as long as you’re doing what you need to do and not offending anyone. So no, I wouldn’t think twice about walking around barefoot if I wanted to, and I certainly wouldn’t be the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/22 "2009-09-18T01:00:34Z")
I would not do it anywhere clients could see me without shoes, which pretty much includes anywhere in the building other than my office. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/23 "2009-09-18T03:54:43Z")
At your desk in a cubicle that’s all yours? OK. Walking around or sitting in an open room where others can easily see you? Not OK. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/24 "2009-09-18T07:24:55Z")
I used to keep a pair of hard-soled moccasins under my desk at work. I would frequently kick off the shoes I wore coming in to work, and go in just my socks. But if I had to go somewhere in the office (or my feet got cold), I would put on my moccasins before leaving my desk. In Minnesota winters, the shoes you wear outside waiting for the bus & walking home are frequently too hot to wear indoors all day. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/25 "2009-09-18T11:31:30Z")
Sorry, but I don’t understand the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/26 "2009-09-18T13:03:13Z")
I work in an office with a bunch of tech support & software developers. People walk around barefoot all the time here. No big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/27 "2009-09-18T13:08:29Z")
> [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Taking them off while sitting at your desk is fine. Once you stand up and start walking around, you’ve got to have shoes on. It just doesn’t look right. > > And I say this as someone who would gladly go barefoot at all times if I could. Yeah, to me it’s one of the benefits of working from home. Bare-ass-naked, no; bare-footed, you bet! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/28 "2009-09-18T13:29:47Z")
You shouldn’t be without shoes in an office. At my last job people were sent home for not wearing appropriate footwear. Clogs got you sent home, which was great for all the other people that had to listen to, clomp clomp clomp. Only wearing socks broke the rule that all people had to have their toes covered in a shoe to prevent injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/29 "2009-09-18T13:32:45Z")
Shoeless in my office, even for that “quick dash to the printer” would be so unprofessional that it would start one firmly on the short path to unemployment. And hey, in this roaring economy, that would open up allllllll sorts of other opportunities. Like being shoeless and living under a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/30 "2009-09-18T13:37:25Z")
In my pre-telecommuting days I worked in my company’s cube farm. I always kicked my shoes off when I was at my desk and never had any problem going to the shared printer in my socks. Like others, this was a closed environment with no outside customers, and very few workers with sticks up their pooters. Ironically, I’m currently sitting at my desk – in my home office – with my shoes on. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/31 "2009-09-18T13:43:36Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > I used to keep a pair of hard-soled moccasins under my desk at work. I would frequently kick off the shoes I wore coming in to work, and go in just my socks. But if I had to go somewhere in the office (or my feet got cold), I would put on my moccasins before leaving my desk. > > In Minnesota winters, the shoes you wear outside waiting for the bus & walking home are frequently too hot to wear indoors all day. The same thing for me, but I’ve got clogs instead of moccasins. For some reason, my feet are the keepers of body heat and I feel much cooler when I take 'em off. If I’m staying in a 3 cube radius, I’ll go in my socks, but anything further and the clogs go on. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/32 "2009-09-18T18:52:01Z")
Why, yes, I am at the office. Why do you ask? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/33 "2009-09-18T19:13:41Z")
Well, I certainly hope you put them back on before you Xerox your butt. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/34 "2009-09-18T20:11:12Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > At your desk in a cubicle that’s all yours? OK. Walking around or sitting in an open room where others can easily see you? Not OK. Just what I would’ve written. I tend to do it myself. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/35 "2009-09-18T20:53:41Z")
Eh. I vote for unprofessional but the Earth doesn’t crash into the sun over it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/36 "2009-09-18T21:12:06Z")
At any of the offices I’ve worked at (and there have been many), shoeless at your desk would have been okay, but you would be expected to put your shoes on to go anywhere, even to the printer. It really does sound unprofessional to me, to be wandering around in your stocking feet. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Beekeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/37 "2009-09-19T03:50:12Z")
In my office, shoeless at your desk is quite common. Going shoeless elsewhere is only acceptable after normal business hours. ---
**Author:** ![Countrypolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/858c86/32.png) [@Countrypolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Countrypolitan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/38 "2009-09-19T04:02:16Z")
I take my shoes off at my desk–I have thyroid disease which makes my legs and feet swell at times. I put them back on to walk around, though. It’s no worse than the people who wear open toed sandals; at least I have socks on. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/39 "2009-09-19T04:25:10Z")
I’m barefoot at my desk a lot of the time, but I would never dream of wandering around in bare feet. I put my shoes on even to go to the printer, which is literally three steps away. I’d like to see the look on my department director’s face if I popped into her office barefoot. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495/40 "2009-09-19T05:03:15Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You shoeless people don’t want to work at my workplace. You’ll have fiberglass in your feet, yes even in the office. Nor mine. You’d probably step in cat pee, cat poop, or cat vomit. Also stray kibble, plates of cat food, or bleach solution if the floor’s freshly mopped. But to each his/her own. Nobody would stop you if you did! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoeless-at-the-office/510495.md?page=3)