[OPLINLIST] Open Toe Shoes/Dress Code Policy

Mon Sep 8 13:26:14 EDT 2014

I've been just a little bemused by this thread. I know these issues crop up
every so often and it always seems to be a big deal, but it's one of those
things I kind of shake my head at. I'm pretty much with Ms. Wilson. In an
office environment where a look of moderate professionalism is desired,
presumably people should be wearing appropriate moderately
professional-looking clothes. The shoes should presumably go with the
outfit.

A policy that enforces safety could certainly be reasonable though. Flip
flops could certainly fall into the safety category and could also fall
into the not-so-moderately-professional-looking category. A double-whammy
against flip flops.

However, open-toed shoes seems, to me, to fall a little bit more into the
nit-picking category. They probably do provide very slightly less
protection from a falling book than non-open-toed shoes might, but there
are also a lot of those non-open-toed shoes that aren't going to be any
better at all than the open-toed shoes. Should there be a policy for those
too in an office environment? If safety is the concern, then there
certainly *should* be a policy against flimsy cloth-covering-the-toes
shoes. The book or pair of scissors that drops from waist high isn't going
to care a whit about a single layer of cloth. But, there is never a
discussion about those light-weight closed-toes shoes in office settings.
We leave that to the individual's own judgement and common sense.

Does that mean safety isn't really the main concern? But if creating a
policy for or against open-toed shoes isn't a safety issue, then what?
Aesthetics? Are people grossed out by toes? That's certainly a slippery
slope....

To my way of thinking, fashion is a moving target. You can have a strict
policy encouraging safety to a point. But what is considered to be
"professional-looking attire" is constantly evolving and has to be defined
by what is generally accepted by the employees and community. If most of
the staff/community consider open-toed shoes to be professional-looking
then there you go. If one or two people are grossed-out by toes, how can
you cater to that when someone else is maybe grossed out by the color green
(or maybe *close-toed* shoes...now *there's* a dilemma!)?

But what do I know? In my office, I usually wear moccasins and sometimes
work in my jammies. I've also never once been accused of having any fashion
sense. The moccasins do provide some protection from falling objects, but
tend to be a little unpredictable on wet surfaces. Honestly, though, the
biggest safety concern with the moccasins is having them get me to a window
fast enough to avoid asphyxiation when the dog occasionally reminds me,
with a unique combination of smells, that she's nearby. I'm thinking about
writing a policy against that...

Chad

Ps.  My sympathies to Mike and anyone else who has ever had to come up with
oddly mildly controversial policies like this. I don't imagine it's an
enviable task!

P.p.s.  I think perhaps I should stick to the topic of computers. They
don't care what shoes I'm wearing.

______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full LAN/WAN consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and schools*

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 11:49 AM, Laura Lee Wilson <llwilson at huroncolib.org>
wrote:

> Yes, we do.
>
> I always remind staff in the spring about our dress code (it seems to
> relax during the warm weather months); dress professionally, wear clothing
> and shoes appropriate for their duties.  Generally speaking we have a no
> butts, no boobs guideline - if you bend over and I have to look at
> something that should be covered it is in violation of the dress code -
> toes don't apply.
>
> I'm sure there are cases where staff have had toes bruised in open-toed
> shoes, but I personally have been bruised and beaten up on the legs, hips,
> and arms by carts, tables, chairs, etc., maybe I'm just a klutz but if
> folks are comfortable wearing sandals (not flip flops) I'm not going to
> stand in their way.
>
> That's my two cents.   ~LLW
>
>
> Laura Lee Wilson, MLIS
> Library Director
> Huron County Community Library
> 6 West Emerald Street
> Willard, OH 44890
> PH: 419-933-2544
> FX: 419-933-4783
> llwilson at huroncolib.org
>
> *This message and any response to it may constitute a public record and
> thus may be publicly available to anyone who requests it.*
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 1:26 PM, Mike Hensel <mhensel at mylondonlibrary.org>
> wrote:
>
>>  OPLIN Libraries:
>>
>>
>>
>> I’m gathering feedback from libraries in regards to allowing staff
>> members to wear open toe shoes (sandals, dress shoes with an open front,
>> etc.).
>>
>>
>>
>> Yes, you do….
>>
>>
>>
>> or
>>
>>
>>
>> No, you don’t….
>>
>>
>>
>> Any input would be appreciated.
>>
>>
>>
>> Mike Hensel
>>
>> Director, MLIS
>>
>> London Public Library
>>
>> 20 E. First Street
>>
>> London, OH 43140
>>
>> www.mylondonlibrary.org
>>
>> 740-852-9543
>>
>> Mobile 614-325-1429
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OPLINLIST mailing list -- OPLINLIST at lists.oplin.org
>> http://lists.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplinlist
>>
>> http://aboutbooks.info -- Search for author, title, subject... anything
>> about books.
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OPLINLIST mailing list -- OPLINLIST at lists.oplin.org
> http://lists.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplinlist
>
> http://aboutbooks.info -- Search for author, title, subject... anything
> about books.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplinlist/attachments/20140908/0a902eb0/attachment.html>