To think that “professional” standards shouldn’t apply during periods of extreme weather?

[toohotforallthis]

I live in an area that has a red weather warning for extreme heat for the next two days.

Today the office was sweltering. It’s been 35° minimum all day, but in the office it’s been closer to 40°. We’ve all been unable to function.

We had a “friendly reminder” that the dress code still applies - dresses to mid calf, no shorts, shirts must cover to the mid arm.

AIBU to say fuck it and turn up in a T-shirt and shorts tomorrow? We have no client contact whatsoever, I will not see a single service user tomorrow. The only people I will see are my coworkers.

My line manager has said she’s fine with it, but if the “big bosses” walk in (from their air conditioned office!), we may get in trouble.

Surely the worst they’ll do is send me home, which is a win for me 😂

Nothing inherent, presumably? I did feel rather unsettled one year though where a chap had his tackle poking out the sides. That’s why I would prefer a ‘longer shorts only’ rule, personally, which you say you’re wearing anyway, OP, so you are already being sensible about abiding by a sensible dress code.

And I’m glad you’ve complained, OP; it’s been obvious your working conditions are unacceptable from your first post. Your office needs an air con unit asap, or home working should be approved immediately.

As I suspected…. It does seem there are a subset of women with a tendency to be super-uptight, puritanical and rules-obsessed in a way that you rarely see in men.

You see it on MN all the time - I’m just grateful I don’t know any women like that in real life! None of this to saying men don’t have their faults - obviously they do!

What’s it all about? Are they jealous of younger hotter women showing off their bodies by displaying well-toned arms or legs?

I’m in the office today… at least half the women have dresses or tops that are short-armed and show a bit of shoulder. Many have knee length skirts too -(knee length skirts were ok way back in the 40s!) They look perfectly normal and professional…

I agree that normal dress code could be relaxed in this weather. I disagree that shorts are cooler. A loose fitting dress without a fitted waist is cooler than shorts and a fitted t-shirt. As a short person, I buy knee length dresses and they are calf length on me.

I can confirm that the shorts have been a lot cooler than anything else!

That’s good. Quite apart from others telling you that a floaty dress is cooler and that you should therefore suck it up because rules are rules, you’re an adult who should be trusted to make a determination for herself over what to wear!

What has management’s reaction been to your scandalous choice of clothing?

Wear a linen kaftan, job done. These dress code threads are tiresome.

Wear shorts and a t-shirt. Take with you a couple of spare sets of clothes including a deemed-appropriate-for-work set + another if needed that's appropriate for travelling / being outside. You then have plausible deniability - you've just arrived / come back from a break and can get changed. Or take a work appropriate item that you can create a stain on - so you can say you've changed because it's dirty and a dirty item isn't professional. (Not sure what's a good stain - something that will wash out easily in a washing machine but not in a few minutes at a sink)

Managing in heat IME requires multiple changes of clothes through the day - removing stuff as it gets damp with dry stuff.

Totally agree. In this heat I’d go to work naked if I could! 😁 Unfortunately my job requires me to wear a uniform though.

The only way to possibly solve it is to invite the management to spend a day in your office and then have them decide about what to wear. Or even better, swap offices for the duration of the heatwave. I wonder what the answer will be.

I can't stand this level of hypocritical expectations. Like my boss, who worked from home yesterday while declaring everyone else has to come to the (non air-conditioned) office on a "do not travel unless absolutely necessary" day. We all have plenty we can do working from home. Fuck this.

The best clothing to wear in extreme heat is lightweight material and loose styles, not shorts and tight skinny tops. Its what people wear in very hot countries for a reason. A loose lightweight floral cotton dress and sandals for women and light linen shirts and trousers for men are more than appropriate for office wear.

Retail uniform for us..trousers, polo shirt, dark colours. Bottled water in staff fridge and ice pops in the freezer section. No air con, metal roof to warehouse. Absolutely boiling. Again, strict absence policy so you avoid unnecessary absence. It was a case of crack on and mentally regretting poor decisions when you were young that mean shit jobs for shit pay with companies only interested in profit not staff welfare or retention.

Anyone who says very high temperatures don't put your health at risk is deluded.

These posts are so odd - what do you think people in hot countries do? I live in southern Europe where it is 35+ degrees for months on end. My son is still at school, they have no air-con. I wfh in my living room, we have no air-con.
Yes its too hot, yes its uncomfortable but the country cant come to a stand still because people are refusing to work or refusing to send kids to school.
Make adjustments and crack on

I agree. I always feel cooler in a dress - more air flow. Keeping cool isn't about exposing more skin.

Yes, I literally had to lay my head down this afternoon until I felt well enough to stand up. No idea what the temp was but I got home to 30 degrees and it seemed cool and pleasant !

Over summer I just wear a linen suit and a long sleeve cotton shirt. I have a few longer cotton dresses which I put a linen blazer over the top.

I try to do good quality matching accessories to make something casual look more professional.

Weird how everyone suddenly starts sucking up to the man the second one individual complains about something in their workplace. Telling people to "suck it up" in this heat does not make you a martyr. Nobody is impressed. Everybody handles the heat differently, it takes a single brain cell to understand this.

I think dress codes should be relaxed in this heat, too, OP. The capitalists like to forget that the scum working beneath them are also human beings, too. Seemingly, so does everybody else the second you take issue with their unreasonable rules. It's not like it's going to be hot forever, the company is not going to collapse because workers are wearing clothes that don't make them feel like they're going to pass out for like 3 days.

You hate your job, you hate your bosses, either go home (where no doubt you have air con?) go off sick, or just bear it, like most of the working population.

Why a floral dress? I fucking hate floral patterns.

Then try stripes 🤣

I’m here to know what happens with the complaint about the heat in that office - no current law for upper temperatures is meant to boundaries and glass blowers who are a dying bread not office workers!
My matron was NOT HAPPY when I brought the baby room thermometer in to fight the battle that we needed drinks at the desk because our ward had surpassed 30 degrees - this was some years ago and I was pregnant with my youngest and therefore very feisty! 😂
But we did get to have water only on the ward!
I wish your team every success.

Sleeves to mid arm is weird, plenty of men where short sleeve shirts and women sleeveless dresses, they’re just arms! I can’t fathom how arms are unprofessional. I understand no shorts though, I don’t think shorts can ever look professional. I’ve been wearing long sleeveless dresses.

I'm hot countries where this weather is usual, buildings are designed differently and don't tend to get so hot. Plus most offices do have aircon. OP's office was close to 40C indoors.

Postmen weren't allowed to wear shorts until 1992. I'm the 80s they still wore shirt, tie and jacket. Dress standards change and people adapt.

I think your workplace sounds genuinely dangerous. Now post-menopause I really can't cope with heat anywhere near as well as I could when younger. If I couldn't keep cool enough I would have to leave. I wouldn't risk heatstroke for any job.