Survey: Flip Flops, Miniskirts Don’t Work at the Office

Friday, 15 July 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Your colleagues don’t want to see your feet. None of them. Gleaned from answers given during a recent phone survey, the human resources company Adecco determined that when it comes to inappropriate office attire, wearing flip-flops were the biggest sin one could commit.

Let me go on a flip flop tangent quickly. President Obama was on vacation in Hawaii this January when he was caught wearing a pair, which became a big news story. Why? Apparently, it was the first time a president had been photographed with his toes hanging free. (This was pre-Anthony Weiner scandal when politics was still PG.) No one cared that the man was on vacation. In Hawaii. The reaction, coupled with this latest data makes me wonder if it’s not more than a question of workplace appropriateness—maybe we have a deeply rooted fear of the flip flop, or more likely, a deeply-rooted fear about seeing the toes of anyone we like, admire or have to work with.

Back to the survey: Miniskirts were number two, but not across the board; 80 percent of women thought miniskirts were inappropriate, only 61 percent of men agreed. Men were more forgiving about strapless tops too. Only 55 percent thought they didn’t belong in the workplace, as opposed to 76 percent of women who were asked. Hmmm.

Info via Reuters