h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Then just wear a competitor's badge the same way

I don't think she got one, no.

Thankfully, only our field level personnel, who interact on a daily basis with our residents, are required to wear shirts (polo or oxford style) with company logos.

Getting home from some of these events would be a hassle, even though my CTA train line runs 24 hours. They do all the track maintenance and such over weekends, so weeknights are OK. But I don't *want* to be out all night.

I don't mind having a glass of wine with dinner or an occasional margarita or Polynesian drink if I'm doing Mexican or Chinese. But never, ever at a company-sponsored event, even if everyone else is. I'm not kidding when I say that someone, at some level (and a couple times at corporate), has been fired after every bi-annual conference, because they got too drunk and made an ass of themselves.

I dislike uniforms too, although military ones have some sound psychological reasoning behind them (which I dislike, but the reasoning is sound).

OTOH I work in an office where jeans and t-shirt is perfectly acceptable and all combinations between that and suit are worn - heck there's a woman who wears some indian style fress (not sari, something else, dunno what it is). BUT I wear a suit. With tie. Because I am at work. Helps with the distinction between work and home. I dislike the bluring of that line and have in the past been far too willing to work in my time. Suit/jeans distinctions helps make the line.

On the corporate identity thing, my last place went through a name change which coincided with a major change in company ethics/morals. It went from being a large but friendly company where senior types were just as approachable and friendly and 'about' as the rest of us. Really had a different way of approaching things. Then due to various things we got a 40yr old mckinsey type top bod. All that went, reductions, redundancies, short termism, staff turnover went from about 15% to industry average and we became Yet Another Medium Sized IT Company (tm) - I hated it.

But before the name change they gave away a lot of the old name merchandise including T-Shirts with the old company name on them. I got one of them and wore it whenever the opportunity arose. Just my little protest but it didn't go unnoticed - prob a good job I left

The Indian style dress would be shalwar kameez, presumably. ('shalwar' for short). I wish I could get away with the male version. I'm sure they'd be just the thing for hot days - and I like that unbleached look.

Last time I was given a company lapel pin, I wore it in my ear for a while.

Read your main post, but mostly skimmed the rest (because, ahem, I'm at work...), so apologies if what I will say has already been said.


To me, the thing that bugs me the most about the whole 'workplace activities' thing is the underlying assumption that you are not supposed to keep your 'work life' and your 'regular life' separate. The time after you finish your workday is not your own, to spend as you wish - if there's a workplace-related activity, you are supposed (by norm) to attend, even if it coincides with your personal life Actually, I suppose major events may be excluded, but that's not the point. That time should be YOUR OWN, to spend as you wish, and if you wish to spend all of it lying around the house and watching DVDs, that is your choice.
It is kinda related - in my mind anyway - to the fact that many workplaces (mainly in the hi-tech area, but I suspect not just there) now expect their employees to be available via phone, email etc. even when they are officially off-work. My mother had a manager who would send her emails at 22:00-23:00 at night, or later, and the next morning get upset that she didn't reply.

Sure, socializing is a great thing, developing contacts at work sure helps, and so on, but it has to be done reasonably, and definitely NOT forced (not by any official means of course, but also not by social means, like shaming someone who opts out).

Well said, Lady P - that sums it up nicely

Thanks, Lady P- that's the heart of the matter, isn't it? I don't suppose any of us go to work just for the opportunity to make social contacts. We go to work to support our regular lives and those activities that are part of it.

As for work dress... our dress code is "business casual", which means we don't need to wear suits, skirts or finely-tailored things. Decent pants, shoes, blouses/shirts. Fridays we're allowed jeans, but technically no gym shoes, etc. I always wear my chucks, though. If asked to change I have something I could wear instead.

My prior employer (not counting the six-month stint with the guy who wrote bad paychecks) allowed totally casual. Jeans, t-shirts, gym shoes were OK, as long as one's choices were within reason. And at the Big Accounting Company I worked at before that we were expected to dress in business attire- jacket or cardigan even in summer!- except Fridays when khakis were OK.

And Ictoan is absolutely right about having work clothes making it easier to shift from work mode to "me" mode. First thing I do when I get home from work is change into Something More Comfortable (and take off my bra!).

Eeep! Work clothes! You've just reminded me I should probably look for something presentable before I apply for an internship

I stick to plain black pants, and short sleeved turtlenecks for winter or "dressy" t-shirt type tops and button-down blouses for the rest of the year. Usually with a fleece or a cardigan. I have a very lightweight cardigan I wear in summer since I break out in hives from the sun.

I keep having to do a mental cross-cultural translation to picture you sitting at work in black trousers and not black knickers.

Reminds me of a couple of films I've seen...

I'm glad ties are disappearing from the workplace.

Oh, yeah, I alwayd forget about the "pants" thing unless I actually hear someone Yookayian say the word "pants". Sorry for the horrifying mental image.

And as if the typical workaday stuff wasn't enough of a pain, thanks to some idiot (most likely drunk), I am late today:

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/eisenhower.cta.crash.2.1040093.html

The accident occured on the West Side, which is southwest of the Loop, and I get on the train on the Northwest Side, so it was several miles away... but service in both directions was delayed and my train arrived nearly 30 minutes later than normal.