Professional attire

[Jay Bee]

Need pics

[jsglow]

Eng, I'm particularly pleased that my delightful wife got in a dig to you types from across campus on 16th & WI.   

[real chili 83]

In that regard, I'm surprised we've gone this long without a "pictures or nothing" post from Keefe or 4ever.

Does anyone here know what HR generalists make with just a couple years of experience?  Six-fu@king-figures. 

Um, no.

[warriorchick]

Need pics

If you insist:

[real chili 83]

Wow fellas, you sure have given me a lot to work with here.  Let me start by telling you my background regarding this subject.  I have been a woman for most of my life.  I have been in the professional workforce for more than 30 years.  I have worked in environments from super stuffy (Big 8 accounting firm in the '80's) to super casual (HR person wearing Daisy Dukes in the summer).  I have had HR departments report to me, including one that had 5000 employees in all 50 states and had five different unions, so I have seen nearly every HR issue imaginable.

First of all, leggings were never designed to have the torso portion showing when being worn.  They are designed to be paired with either a long shirt or sweater, a skirt, or even a long jacket if you keep it buttoned.  If your heinie are hooha are exposed, you are not wearing them appropriately.  They are not pants.  They are basically heavy-gauge tights without feet.

Are they professional?  No outfit that gives you cameltoe or clings to your buttcheeks is professional.  That being said, any company that does not have a dress code expressly forbidding leggings will have a hard time telling that person she cannot wear them.  Of course, if this woman is generally viewed in the office as unprofessional in her dress, it could potentially affect her career.  Her only saving grace might be if she is an engineer, because everyone knows that engineers don't know how to dress themselves.

If I were the head of that HR department and decided to deal with it, I would take her aside and simply let her know that there have been some complaints from female co-workers about her mode of dress, and that I wanted her to be aware of it for her own benefit.  I would emphasize that there was nothing specific in the dress code that prevents her from wearing leggings with a short top, but there are folks in the office (myself included) that believe that it is not a professional look.  I would have the same conversation with a guy who wore camouflage cargo shorts to work.

Good advice Chick

I guarantee, you haven't seen it all. 

[warriorchick]

Good advice Chick

I guarantee, you haven't seen it all.

Yep, I am working for a stuffy medical society now, so the stories aren't nearly as good as when I was the CFO of one of the largest privately-owned janitorial firms in the country.

[real chili 83]

It's amazing what people will film, put on a thumb drive, and play on their computer.

And that's the mild stuff.

[warriorchick]

It's amazing what people will film, put on a thumb drive, and play on their computer.

And that's the mild stuff.

I caught our HR director embezzling.  Good times.

[real chili 83]

That's mild. Meh

[4everwarriors]

Need pics

Nothin' worse den a broad rockin' yoga pants with panty lines showin', hey? If ya don't have the balls ta go sans bloomers, just don't even put da suckers on, hey?

[mu03eng]

The outfits tend to be closest to the maybe picture

[martyconlonontherun]

Talking to some of my female friends, I think there is a disconnection between what they think yoga pants do and what they do. It does not suddenly make your ass look better, it just is a sluttier outfit. I still appreciate it but two different things.

[mu03eng]

Eng, I'm particularly pleased that my delightful wife got in a dig to you types from across campus on 16th & WI.   

Listen, lets not go giving her a ticker tape parade just yet.....in a battle of wits my people are unarmed.   

[mu03eng]

Talking to some of my female friends, I think there is a disconnection between what they think yoga pants do and what they do. It does not suddenly make your ass look better, it just is a sluttier outfit. I still appreciate it but two different things.

Keep in mind that yoga pants and leggings are two different things....close cousins by my understanding but different nonetheless

[warriorchick]

Talking to some of my female friends, I think there is a disconnection between what they think yoga pants do and what they do. It does not suddenly make your ass look better, it just is a sluttier outfit. I still appreciate it but two different things.

It depends on the ass.

[mu03eng]

It depends on the ass.

That response is a universal truism regardless of the conversation topic.

[4everwarriors]

Nothin' better den a well sculptured female ass, ai na?

[Dr. Blackheart]

I have someone working for me that I've received complaints from a few coworkers(all female) that this individual(female) wears leggings with nothing that fully covers the pelvic area and that they are inappropriate.

[4everwarriors]

Now yer talkin', bro, hey?

[Benny B]

I'm one of those lawyers who represents employers and makes things so difficult for you.  If I've learned one thing in 20 years of doing this, it's that no good deed goes unpunished.  Sadly -- and I really mean that...it's very sad -- showing a little empathy can be extraordinarily expensive.  Often, it works out great.  But honestly, the majority of lawsuits I've defended over the years can be traced back to somebody trying to do someone a favor and having it come back to bite them in the ass.

/Disclaimer:  doing this for 20 years has made me a cynical SOB as it relates to employees.  People only call me about the bad ones.

I should have qualified... I blame the plaintiffs' lawyers.  You're cool.  Sure, I don't like it when all y'all be getting up in my kool aid, but at the end of the day, I know who you're working for.  67% of my job is risk management... if not for you guys, I wouldn't be able to spend 5-75% of the other 33% slumming around here.

[keefe]

Are they professional?  No outfit that gives you cameltoe or clings to your buttcheeks is professional.

Depends on one's profession I should think

[warriorchick]

The outfits tend to be closest to the maybe picture

Basic rule of thumb:  If the answer to "Is this a professional look?" is "maybe", default to "no".

[Benny B]

Basic rule of thumb:  If the answer to "Is this a professional look?" is "maybe", default to "no".

I'll take it a step further... Every man and woman still working in a Fortune 100/500/1000 workplace after their first 60-90 days knows damn well what is acceptable and what is not.  There is no maybe... those who choose to push the envelope are either trying to draw attention to themselves or make a statement, period*.  Those who have a blatant disregard for standards, i.e. lack attention to detail, aren't going to make it past the probationary period.


* Except in cases where the stereotypical "personal secretary," i.e. those ladies who are being paid to cross the line, is sitting outside the C-suite that is still occupied by filth... but their days are numbered in the business world.  Oh, and maybe the tooth jockeys, too... probably should make an exception there as well.

[GGGG]

Basic rule of thumb:  If the answer to "Is this a professional look?" is "maybe", default to "no".

My wife worse something today that was in the first "yes" picture category.  She looked damn good.

[MerrittsMustache]

Basic rule of thumb:  If the answer to "Is this a professional look?" is "maybe", default to "no".

I tend to believe that if a person genuinely wonders if his/her look is professional, the answer is almost always going to be "no."