banned from going barefoot at work

prowla

I took off my shoes under my desk today.

(I'm a rebel!)

mandragora_2

My feet hurt much of the time, and shoes make it worse - on the rare occasions when I am working on my own, with no-one else in the room with me, I go barefoot. I'm comfy, my colleagues rib me about it, or if I nip along the corridor in slipper socks from time to time, the boss calls me Sandy Shaw. None of these things bother me; it doesn't impact on anyone else as far as I can see and if they think I'm a bit odd, I don't mind that - I've given them plenty of other evidence to support this point of view over the years, anyway!

If I'm comfortable, and my work is better as a result, and it's not hurting anyone else, then no-one where I work has an issue with it, so far as I'm aware. However, I don't work in an office, and I don't go barefoot when working with others nearby. I think that if I worked in close proximity to others, I wouldn't want someone near me to be barefoot, even though I completely sympathise with the OP's position. And yes, I think that it may be to do with colleagues' perception of smell, or perhaps personal discomfort at bare feet being exposed (mine ain't pretty!), and sadly, I think that's just the way it's likely to stay. If you can't find a compromise you're going to need to find something to wear that works for you as well as possible.

double_mummy

im terrible for this im always kicking my shoes off i also have 2 pairs of shoes in my bottom drawer as i need 3 different pairs of shoes per day lol

heels for meetings and seeing customers, flats for driving, and safety shoes for being in the dangerous bit

but if im at my desk i will kick which ever ones i am wearing offi usually have stockings or tights or socks on but i rest my feet on my shoes rather than on the floor thats just icky but you need to do what work says to do

dickydonkin

Southend1 wrote: »

Shoes can be removed and put back on as required!

I think when you consider the bigger picture the risk to OP's health and safety from being forced to wear shoes all the time is greater than that of removing the shoes while at her desk.

While the general office risk assessment may conclude that employees should wear shoes at all times, a specific risk assessment for OP could come to a different conclusion in this case.

Absolutely correct - however, the only reason the OP stated she took off her shoes was to avoid perspiration and potential body odour - not for safety reasons.

Many of us would feel more comfortable at work by removing overalls/uniform or indeed personal protective equipment , but I would suspect that any competent person conducting even a 'person/site specific' risk assessment would still highlight the risks previously mentioned in this thread and 'having sweaty feet' may be deemed not to be a good reason to allow bare feet in the workplace.

I would feel more comfortable at work wearing a loose tracksuit of shorts in the summer, but it isn't going to happen - even when I am sweating the proverbials off at times!

Company dress codes and even insurers requirements also need to be considered - particularly the latter - insurers over zealous requirements are one of the reasons H&S is ridiculed in the UK due to our now litigious society. A staple in the foot would probably earn a few hundred pounds I'm sure.

This situation is really trivial, however, all I was attempting to highlight was the potential pitfalls of allowing someone to work in an office without footwear and the implications of doing so if something went wrong.