Do you wear a tie to work?

[flere-imsaho]

First of all, I apologize that this is basically a poll for the guys.

Secondly, coming across this article made me think about this and spurred me to post this as a poll

For the record, I do wear a tie to work, as my consulting company requires it. I also wore a tie to my last job, which was working for the Development/Alumni Relations department of a major university. But before that, not since I did office jobs as a teenager.

I'm definitely getting tired of wearing a tie to work, but I guess I do see how it sets me apart from a lot of the people at my clients' sites. I should note that when I was on assignment in the Bay Area I did not have to wear a tie, as the corporate cultures in that area are very anti-tie.

So, anyway, thoughts?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Never had a job where one was required, would never have taken one where it was.

[Critch]

I work off-site from our clients. I don't even shave anymore, never mind wear a tie.

[Kodos]

Hell, I don't even have to wear pants.

[Honolulu_Blue]

The only time I wear a tie at work is if I am meeting with clients, other attorneys, or going to court.

I do not like ties and I can't tie them for shit.

[Passacaglia]

About a month ago, I took a job that would have required me to wear a tie. It was almost a deal-killer for me -- almost as soon as I got there for the interview, I was thinking, why am I even bothering. But then I started to think that I have a good ten ties that I never wear, so maybe it'll work out all right. Turned out, my first day on the job, they switched to business casual. I told myself I'd still try to wear a tie like once a week, but I haven't done it yet.

[ThunderingHERD]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Never had a job where one was required, would never have taken one where it was.

Did you get picked on a lot by ties when you were little or something?

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Critch

I work off-site from our clients. I don't even shave anymore, never mind wear a tie.

+1

[Eaglesfan27]

I wear them for professional organization meetings, one of which I'm attending tomorrow, otherwise I hate them and never wear them.

[George]

I wear a tie to work every day, and I dislike it.

[Radii]

I wear ties for funerals and job interviews. I would absolutely never take a job that required one and would probably immediately turn in my notice if a company I worked at changed its dress code to require them. Of course, I think most software developers would see a dress code change like that as a sign of a deeper problem within a company anyway.

[Rizon]

I'm not required to wear a tie at work. I find them silly and odd looking. Plus they always get in the way.

[CleBrownsfan]

I use to wear a tie everyday to work but real glad I'm don't anymore!

[Neon_Chaos]

Nope. Thank god.

[DaddyTorgo]

how about options with %'s of the time.

normally no...however if we have clients or meetings...yes

[molson]

Really bizzare that people would actually reject jobs if they had to wear a tie. How much of a pay raise would you people forgo?

I'm in court every day, so I wear one all the time. It's not really a hassle.

[Young Drachma]

Nope. I wouldn't mind a job where I had to dress up and rumor has it, the college President is pondering some sort of "dress code"....but, nope.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by molson

Really bizzare that people would actually reject jobs if they had to wear a tie. How much of a pay raise would you people forgo?

I'm in court every day, so I wear one all the time. It's not really a hassle.

I've wondered the same thing -- it's tough to figure, and the hypothetical doesn't really come up -- you never have two jobs that are exactly the same, except for a pay difference and different dress code -- there are usually other factors that come into play. My office has days where a $5 donation to a charity that's preferred by the company will let you wear jeans. I'll probably do that every day I can, but I wonder if that means that I'd accept a pay cut of $5 per day to work in a place where jeans are okay every day.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

Really bizzare that people would actually reject jobs if they had to wear a tie. How much of a pay raise would you people forgo?

I really don't think anybody has that much money to entice me to wear one on a regular basis.

Seriously.

[ThunderingHERD]

Ok, I'm all for standing on principle, but what kind of silly principle is this?

"Sorry kids, looks like you're going to a state school--ties cramp daddy's style!"

[Groundhog]

It's optional where I work. I've thought about wearing one a number of times over the years, but I know that if I just started wearing one out of the blue after all these years, they'd think I was out going for job interviews.

[MacroGuru]

I wear one when I work..every other week...but when I am at home, it's all shorts, t-shirts and flip flops.

[molson]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I really don't think anybody has that much money to entice me to wear one on a regular basis.

Seriously.

Interesting - why?

[Young Drachma]

I think some folks here are forgetting that a lot of us are in different industries. If someone here was a lawyer saying "I'm not wearing a f-ing tie" that'd be one thing. But if they're doing something else, the way you dress has absolutely no impact on the bottom line or how much money you make working there.

So...it's an apples and oranges discussion.

Plus, you can dress up nice without wearing a tie.

[ISiddiqui]

Usually no (mostly polo shirts), but when I'm on an investigation, it's business attire, including ties.

[RendeR]

I work at a small college in Buffalo in the IT department. So the dress code is very casual, the only real limiting factor is no bluejeans.

Most days I wear a polo shirt and a pair of cargo pants and a Medaille College ballcap. On these days the students tend to get confused and think I'm another student.

On the days I wear a shirt and tie and pair of slacks, I get 10x as many questions/requests for help with something and 9x out of 10 I get called "Professor"

I'm no professor, but having someone offer up the respect of the name just because of my appearance really says something to me.

I would rather wear t-shirts and jeans, certainly, but I LIKE the response I get when I dress profesionally.

Ties? Who cares, if its a better job, you take it. Ignoring a chance to improve yourself and/or your life over a clothing issue seems childish at best, pretty damn stupid at worst.

Oh and they have these things called "Tie clips" they look very classy and they keep your tie out of your way

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ThunderingHERD

Ok, I'm all for standing on principle, but what kind of silly principle is this? "Sorry kids, looks like you're going to a state school--ties cramp daddy's style!"

It's not particularly "principle" - I mean, I don't have some incredibly deep moral issue with ties or anything -- I just friggin despise wearing them. And I have more than an ample supply of misery in my life without adding to it via wardrobe.

Money certainly helps buy off unhappiness (the older I get the more I find this to be true) but there's really not any amount of money that I can envision that would buy off the degree of unhappiness that would create. I mean, the best I'd be doing is battling it to a draw - enjoying the benefits of the money during the non-tie hours but being absolutely miserable during the working hours (and the other hours I'm asleep so they're neutral). And there's opportunities to break even on that ledger without bothering with the tie.

And, happily, I've found ways to avoid both state schools & ties simultaneously so it isn't as though there's any sort of all or nothing situation to deal with.

[chesapeake]

My father was a banker, so I grew up thinking that men always wore ties to work. And I've always had a job where ties were required, so I've always worn them. I like the look of a sharp suit and a bold tie. Pat Riley is my fashion hero, although the slick hair look doesn't work for me.

[lungs]

Often times, I end up covered in feces by the time I'm done with work. No ties for me. I wear the grungiest clothes I have to work.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by ThunderingHERD

Ok, I'm all for standing on principle, but what kind of silly principle is this?

"Sorry kids, looks like you're going to a state school--ties cramp daddy's style!"

What's wrong with a state school?

[lordscarlet]

I would love to wear a tie to work, but we have a laid back developer team and I would be pointed and laughed at.

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by Rizon

I'm not required to wear a tie at work. I find them silly and odd looking. Plus they always get in the way.

Societal customs are weird. If you were an alien, and someone told you that in order to look "professional," humans were expected to wear a narrow strip of cloth from their neck that also constricted their throats, that might strike you as bizarre.

Not having to wear a tie (or anything uncomfortable) on a regular basis is worth a great deal of money to me. If I had kids, perhaps it would be different.

[wade moore]

Weird, this discussion came up with me and some other FOFC'ers yesterday.

Anyway - I am a manager of a Help Desk. I choose to wear a tie 3-4 days a week. We don't even technically have a dress code and many people here wear Jeans and a polo or even jeans and a "nice t-shirt".

I just think ther eis something to be said about looking professional. It's probably a factor also that I started young as a manager (and still am pretty young for the position I have) so it helps people to take more seriously.

[Coffee Warlord]

I didn't even own a tie till I bought a suit a few months ago. And that wasn't for work.

[Neon_Chaos]

You dress for the job you want.


Which is why I always pull out the Astronaut suit every now and then.

[Young Drachma]

Living in Wyoming if I dressed up everyday, I'd stand out even more than I already do. I do enjoy the chance to do it when I have a meeting that calls for it. But I never wear suits here. Or even a tie. Only to events related to my business. I used to dress up a lot more and there's no point because I sit in my office the majority of my days and some days see no one.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

You dress for the job you want.


Which is why I always pull out the Astronaut suit every now and then.

::claps::

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I think some folks here are forgetting that a lot of us are in different industries. If someone here was a lawyer saying "I'm not wearing a f-ing tie" that'd be one thing. But if they're doing something else, the way you dress has absolutely no impact on the bottom line or how much money you make working there.

So...it's an apples and oranges discussion.

Plus, you can dress up nice without wearing a tie.

Very true. Even though I almost never wear ties to work, I always wear nice dress slacks and a dress shirt, so it's never been an issue even though one of my past bosses occasionally mentioned that he would prefer I wear a tie.

[miami_fan]

It is interesting that the article seems to talk about people wearing ties to work more for the style aspect as opposed to the "professional" appearance it may present. Being in the military, I don't wear ties at work at all. I do however wear ties fairly often during my off duty time. Most of the ties I wear are not the type that I would wear in a business environment. Maybe that will change when I become a civilian. I am sure that comes from my father having a set of “work” ties and then a set of “going out” ties.

I also have no problem with people who don’t like to wear ties not wearing them. To me, nothing looks more unprofessional than a guy who is wearing a tie in a manner that makes it obvious that they are being forced to wear it.

[Icy]

I work online from home so my working uniform is usually shorts and t-shirt on summer and jeans or jogging pants and t-shirt on winter. I could even work in pajama but when working from home, i believe on imposing some self discipline like shaving and dressing when i wake up, else you can degenerate pretty fast.

I work this informal way because nobody sees me and i'm more comfortable, but i wouldn't have any problem wearing a suit and tie if working in an office or having to meet other businessmen.

[MartinD]

I'm in an office-based job, so I did wear formal business wear (i.e. suit/shirt/tie) when I started working (in 1998). Things are not quite as formal now, though - have not had to wear a tie to work since the start of 2004.

Martin

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by molson

Really bizzare that people would actually reject jobs if they had to wear a tie. How much of a pay raise would you people forgo?

If making a ton of money was my goal, I wouldn't be working for a game developer...

[molson]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

If making a ton of money was my goal, I wouldn't be working for a game developer...

We're not talking about how fulfilling or interesting the job is, we're talking about wearing a damn tie.

So if another game developer (exact same job), offered you $10k more, but you needed to wear a tie, you'd say, "suck it, you corporate losers!".

I'm looking at this computer screen wearing a tie. I honestly can't even tell that it's on. You people are nuts.

[Wolfpack]

Ties are pretty much anathema to me. Dressing up in general isn't my bag anyway. It's been something of an adjustment to go from my old university job where I could pretty much wear what I wanted (shorts, jeans, etc) to a bit more of a corporate culture where I'm grudgingly wearing khakis now (though the hot weather has made khakis more palatable as a choice). At least Fridays are more casual. Shorts are still disallowed which irks me, but at least we're heading into the colder part of the calendar now, so I don't have to worry about it for much longer.

I have exactly one suit. I only wear it if someone dies or I have to get a new job.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

What's wrong with a state school?

Obviously you don't live in Georgia

[I. J. Reilly]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

It's not particularly "principle" - I mean, I don't have some incredibly deep moral issue with ties or anything -- I just friggin despise wearing them. And I have more than an ample supply of misery in my life without adding to it via wardrobe.

Money certainly helps buy off unhappiness (the older I get the more I find this to be true) but there's really not any amount of money that I can envision that would buy off the degree of unhappiness that would create. I mean, the best I'd be doing is battling it to a draw - enjoying the benefits of the money during the non-tie hours but being absolutely miserable during the working hours (and the other hours I'm asleep so they're neutral). And there's opportunities to break even on that ledger without bothering with the tie.

And, happily, I've found ways to avoid both state schools & ties simultaneously so it isn't as though there's any sort of all or nothing situation to deal with.

Absolutely miserable; really? Are you sure you’re wearing it right?

[ctmason]

Yeah uh...you know it goes around your neck, right Jon?

[molson]

Originally Posted by I. J. Reilly

Absolutely miserable; really? Are you sure you’re wearing it right?

I hadn't thought of that, good point - I think people are just wearing them too tight or something.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

So if another game developer (exact same job), offered you $10k more, but you needed to wear a tie, you'd say, "suck it, you corporate losers!".

Nope.

I'd simply respectfully decline the job offer, the difference an additional $10k would make in my life isn't even a fraction of how much aggravation it would cost me. I would, quite literally, have to get drunk every night (and possibly every morning) to be able to endure a job where that was part of the requirement. Between the health issues that could cause, plus the cost of the booze, I wouldn't have the extra money anyway.

Bluntly, I pretty much walk right along the edge of being so miserable I literally can't function as it is, any misery I can avoid is one step that I don't take toward that abyss. And if I topple into it, I'm not going to have the job with the extra cash anyway, so it'd just be a situation that I'd be assured of failure in anyway.

(And that doesn't even get into the reality of how long I would or could tolerate an enviroment where form over function was such an issue in the first place)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by I. J. Reilly

Absolutely miserable; really? Are you sure you’re wearing it right?

I'm actually going to take this as a (semi) serious question and say yeah, I'm pretty sure those rare occasions they're on correctly since the misery isn't entirely physical. That part only qualifies as "moderately uncomfortable".