Barefoot at Work

I'm always coming into work and leaving work barefoot, unless I'm cycling. If I rode to work, I'll take a shower after arriving and then go around the office barefoot for a little bit.

I cycle to work most days and wear cycling sandals. I leave the bike and sandals in a bike locker outside one of our buildings and walk barefoot to the locker room. After showering, I put on flip flops to walk to my desk and then kick those off. For a while I wasn't using flip flops, but one morning I got the evil eye from a higher up. Eventually I'll put on shoes and socks to go to meetings, the lab, etc.
 
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I spend most of my work days in Vivobarefoot shoes or barefoot. I found some bike pedals by Avenir called Comfort Pedals. $10 on Amazon. I have gone 26 miles in them and completed 1 race (2nd this weekend) - I actually find the pedals more comfortable than the barefoot run and I would say JUST AS comfortable as wearing shoes (maybe more than sandals?). -
 
I've been testing the water this week by not putting my shoes on when I leave my desk and walk to the printer etc. It took him three days but as expected, the H & S manager advised me today that I have to wear shoes for my own safety :) I aren't bothering to argue. It ain't worth it. I just kick them off when I get back to my (standing) desk
 
Well, almost barefoot at work... Those sandals are mildly modified vivobarefoot alexanders, they are actually very good sandals..
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Yep! ;):D:barefoot:

One good aspect of being back on the shift schedule... the nights & weekends I started coming in and being barefoot all shift. My fellow shiftworkers usually don't mind... much. Just started going bare at work the first time late spring this year when it started warming up. I used to slip on the Unshoes to walk through the lobby and get up to my floor until I got to the desk, but rarely would even see anyone but the security guard and they dont pay any attention anyhow lol. So one day I said screw it, seems silly to put these things on just for one minute to walk in. Came in bare ever since. On nights and weekends too I take quick breaks and do stairs (barefoot as well, or course). Try to do 8-14 flights every other hour or so. Helps keep me awake too! On weekdays... not so much. I wear either my SoftStar Dash shoes or Vivos. I do however kick em off under the desk and spend most of the day in socks unless I have to go somewhere.
 
Yep! ;):D:barefoot:

One good aspect of being back on the shift schedule... the nights & weekends I started coming in and being barefoot all shift. My fellow shiftworkers usually don't mind... much. Just started going bare at work the first time late spring this year when it started warming up. I used to slip on the Unshoes to walk through the lobby and get up to my floor until I got to the desk, but rarely would even see anyone but the security guard and they dont pay any attention anyhow lol. So one day I said screw it, seems silly to put these things on just for one minute to walk in. Came in bare ever since. On nights and weekends too I take quick breaks and do stairs (barefoot as well, or course). Try to do 8-14 flights every other hour or so. Helps keep me awake too! On weekdays... not so much. I wear either my SoftStar Dash shoes or Vivos. I do however kick em off under the desk and spend most of the day in socks unless I have to go somewhere.
Not sure what your job is, but I think I want some of it too! :p
 
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Not sure what your job is, but I think I want some of it too! :p

Well the nights & weekends are very lax environment but it certainly isnt like that during weekday shifts. And the shiftwork certainly isnt ideal, especially flip flopping and 12hr shifts. In 5 weeks you go through at least 2 stretches of nights. Sometimes on your on-call week you can flip flop multiple times, like a dayshift, nightshift, dayshift and then Monday the next week start nights. Quick turn-arounds happen frequently too, having to go from a nightshift 6p-6a one night, then in 24hrs you got to come back at 6a. Or work 6a-6p one day and the next day 6p-6a. The strange hours cause some stress on the body, never getting used to a schedule, and weekday shifts where you cant get up and take brakes easily your sitting in a chair for 12hrs straight (don't even get to leave for lunch). The shift rotation saving grace is a week off every 5 though, and I do get a huge desk with lots of monitors (shown only half of them in the photo!).

Nice Paraganek!
 
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I have a barefoot version, but I honestly wear socks and haven't had an issue. I don't think bare would be as well tolerated. I wear shoes in the front door of the E.R. and I kick them off in the Sleep Lab. Patients are barefoot, in socks or in slippers and so far, none have even mentioned my wearing socks. But once in a while I will see they have noticed my socks.1407038683512.jpg
 
Wow, thanks for all of the replies, guys. I haven't been here on the site in a while, and I could give a little update on my current working situation...

I quit my office job about 6 months ago or so...that place was a living hell. I seriously just can't handle a desk job and I don't know how a lot of you all do. I guess there's a lot of variety, and it depends on the kind of work you're doing, who you work with, etc., but I was literally just sitting at a desk 8 hours a day by myself doing accounting stuff...I felt like my life was wasting away right before my eyes.

I realized there was a perfect line of work out there for me...gymnastics coach. You're not even allowed to wear shoes in most gymnastics facilities, and you have constant access to some awesome athletic equipment, so it's perfect! I took some gymnastics classes when I was younger and have always loved tumbling, strength training, basically just everything that gymnastics is. I applied to a couple gymnastics facilities in my area and even though they didn't work out (for economic reasons), they still seemed very promising for the future (male gymnastics coaches are harder to come by and usually have more strength for spotting gymnasts).

I ended up getting a job at the YMCA near my house coaching gymnastics. Although the gymnastics equipment quality isn't nearly as good as the other facilities, the training will help me a lot in my future applications. I'm doing a few different jobs at the Y now, and the free Y membership is pretty nice too.

Also, If you guys could include what general line of work you do as well, that would be cool. Just out of curiosity, really. I see 20 different monitors on your desks and I am just curious what kind of job you have, haha.
 
Thats great you could find a more fitting job. I'd love to get out of the office, out of the city entirely really. But throw in economics... well around here its probably not going to happen. I'd love to be a forest ranger, or guide, or just work trail crews if I could make ends meet. Whatever gets me out in nature and beautiful scenery thats least cluttered with man made abominations (lol) and on my feet. But no mountains around here.

I'm sure sitting on my butt for 12 hrs isnt healthy and probably hurting some of my training (though on nightshifts at least I get up and move around some more). Early days and lack of sleep take its toll too, as well as flipping days and nights strains the system. I honestly see me doing this until I retire unfortunately.

Also, If you guys could include what general line of work you do as well, that would be cool. Just out of curiosity, really. I see 20 different monitors on your desks and I am just curious what kind of job you have, haha.

Well I have a lot of monitors, but not quite 20... only 17 screens on that desk. And we got big ones too - 3 55" tv's mounted overhead are hooked to the computer, 6 high res 30" monitors sit across the desk and a rack of 8 24" screens turned vertical on the side. I control a bunch of power plants, the desk in the photo was our hydro dispatch desk where we have several different river systems we control flows and levels, and a few dams and several generators on each. 4 more dispatch desks too, and I can run all of them. The other desks are east and west coal/gas/wind/nuke, capability desk and shift supervisor. Most of the other desks have 8-10 screens. Last year I was on temporary day assignment for tech help when we moved to this building (among other things). I actually designed the desks, how many screens, and the layout.
 
Yeah, it's sad that sitting behind a desk is usually the most practical way to get the bills paid. Working at the YMCA alone isn't going to serve me very well financially, so hopefully I can find some other part time work. I've played piano for a long time and studied music in college, so I'm trying to start giving piano lessons as well. Luckily I'm still pretty young and live at home so my parents are helping me out a lot.

So you control the river flow/level by adjusting something on the dams? That sounds pretty cool.
 
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