Whether you’re tottering around in uncomfortably high heels or persevering with those flats that make you sweat like you’re in the sahara – finding work footwear that’s both appropriate and comfortable can be a challenge.
That’s why one UK slipper company is encouraging people to wear their (you guessed it) slippers to work, claiming it improves employees’ productivity.
A spokesperson for Shoegarden told The Sun that allowing their staff to wear the fluffier footwear has been “tremendously beneficial for our workplace performance.”
“It is now increasingly acceptable to dress in an off duty, effortless style.”
“We feel employees should work in comfort and we therefore sell a huge variety of indoor slippers with contoured footbed insoles to ensure utmost comfort and foot support.”
Many workplaces have become increasingly relaxed in their dress codes (Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously wears the same shirt and jeans combo everyday) but the jury is still out over whether it has any effect on productivity.
Some research has suggested that casual dressing results in a more relaxed attitude to work, thus lowering performance. But other studies have found that it increases productivity by up to 40%.
Dr. Karen Pine, professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire and fashion psychologist, told The Guardian that our sartorial selections can strongly influence our mindset.
“When we put on an item of clothing it is common for the wearer to adopt the characteristics associated with that garment. A lot of clothing has symbolic meaning for us, whether it’s ‘professional work attire’ or ‘relaxing weekend wear’, so when we put it on we prime the brain to behave in ways consistent with that meaning.”
So are you unlikely to hit your KPIs if you’re schlepping around in slippers? Pine says it’s more dependent on the industry you’re in.
“In general, people tend to work best in the type of clothes that go with the job, and that is determined by the nature of the work and by what their peers wear.”
It might be time to convince your colleagues to start wearing slippers.
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