underclothes

lynnski

If an employee does not wear any underclothes, should this person be spoken to?

Don D

Lynn: You're really leaving yourself wide open with that one!

Seriously, I guess my answer would be based on what impact their not wearing underwear has on the workplace. In short, the question is, So What? In not wearing underwear, is the employee somehow exposing him/herself in some manner? Are they waiting on the public and embarassing the employer somehow? Why would 'underwear' be required?

Cinderella

I recall working for a company once that had a dresscode that said employees were required to wear "proper underclothing". It always made me laugh. Who's gonna check if they wear it or if it's proper? x:-/ You mean guys can't wear Spongebob Squarepants boxers? What about Spiderman? Don't even get me started on Victoria's Secret and Fredrick's of Hollywood....

I suppose I see the point if a female cashier or something has her nipples pierced and she's not wearing a bra under a white tee-shirt but you generally don't see such flagrant stupidity...well...not around here!

amwkim

I agree with Don. What is the ramification of no underclothes? How do you know none are being worn? If the employee is decently dressed, but perhaps floppy, who is it hurting? It reminds me of the conversation of the young woman with the braids...

We have bigger fish to fry!;;)

SMace

This question is one of the reasons I check the forum almost daily. I never expected to see the word "floppy". I love it!!!!!!

rad

If the person is wearing a mini skirt and no panties and their job requires frequent bending, sure. Other than that, whats the problem? No one wants to see anyone else's stuff hanging and moving all over but some people just don't like feeling restricted. I've seen some women who are very obviously wearing a bra but just not one thats doing the job and I think "why bother?" But you can't force folks to Lady Grace for a proper fitting.

AJ SPHR

I'm with the others - what's the impact? And how do you know the employee is not?x:-/

Rockie

I shared this story with the Forum a long time ago, but some of you guys are new.

When I worked at a bank, we had a young lady who did not wear underclothing. I was downstairs one day and a male employee was sitting on one of the sofas in the lobby. He said "c'mere a minute. I want to show you something." I sat down by him and he said "watch that new teller over there when she walks with the light behind her."

Sure enough, you could see all the way through her clothes and she didn't have on a stitch underneath. She was told what had happened and counseled on professional dress in the workplace. She had no idea she was so "transparent." (But obviously popular!)

Don D

I suppose I should salute Cinderella and RAD for making the observations that men could not get away with making on the Forum. To really put the question in perspective, get in your time machine and imagine that you're watching 'Hollywood Squares', and someone asks Paul Linde, or better yet, George Gobel the question, "If a person doesn't wear underwear, should she be spoken to?"x}>

turbo

Underclothes????

Why stop there my past 2 employers required women to wear make up - come to work made up and not the men and also required no bare legs...if a dress or skirt was to be worn, panty hose or tights were required -

In Texas - requiring panty hose is big thing of women in the summer....in the past 5 years casual dress has taken care of the panty hose issue - but no the make up issue --still required

Whatever

Why are we assuming this a woman?

LeeR

I have had to be the parking lot police, body odor police, safety police but have never been asked to be the underwear police. Might be a fun job in the right place and totally disgusting in the wrong place. Getting back to the question, Why do you care if someone is wearing underwear or not and how can you tell?

ritaanz

I see that this is your first post. Welcome! As to your question.... wearing of underware should not be the issue. The end result is, i.e. exposing body parts.

If you must sit this person down, they will accept your ideas/comments readilty if you can show 'em a picture of themselves or be very, very descriptive in your narrative to them.
OR
If this makes you uncomfortable, you can always tell them that Benjamin Franklin said so. x:P

Don D

Lynn: We've sort of gone haywire with our answers, since we're not really sure what your concern is. In short, I guess we're recommending that it might not be a concern or perhaps SHOULD not be. If, on the other hand, and taking a clue from Cinderella's boldness, you are concerned about exposed nipples or the appearance of 10 pounds of potatoes being pushed into a 5 pound sack or a guy 'hanging left' and distracting others, maybe you do have a situation that, depending on your work venue and customers and co-workers, should be addressed. Don't let the mistake, however, of letting your personal opinion or preference decide your reaction. The last thing you should do is think we're not responsive to your question. We are. Please jump back in and clarify or tell us how you decided to handle it. We all learn from each other and sometimes stay sane by injecting humor. We'd like to learn how you handled this one. x:-)

lynnski

Hi Don:

I appreciate the feedback and the humor! Here is the situation, to clarify:

This person (female) has admitted that she does not wear underclothes. She frequently sits on other peoples desk's and, quite frankly, grosses out the other women, who understand that underwear is worn for a REASON, if you get my drift.

As the person responsible for reporting policy violations, I'm not sure where to turn on this one, but I do see it as a potential health issue.

Don D

I'll try not to get your precise drift, but, I think it would be perfectly proper to tell her to stop sitting on other people's desks, unless your environment is so casual as to allow that as a standard. There is always the possibility that she is doing it for shock value. Imaginations could run wild here.

I do think I would avoid the issue of underwear unless you are an industry that makes wine the old fashioned way by walking around in a barrel of grapes. In that case, you would be in order to require underwear. If she seems to be having fun with this whole thing, try this: "Do you have any idea how gross it is for you to sit on people's desk and totally expose yourself? If it happens one more time, you will no longer be employed here. I want you to understand that very clearly; one more time."

rad

Ok, that I can understand. If she's hopping up on the desk and pulling a Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct, there is a problem. Never mind the yuck factor. I remember my father telling us "tables are for glasses, not for a**es". I suppose the same rule applies for desks. Tell her to use a chair.

Cinderella

Rad - that reminds me of a woman who I worked with at my last place of employment. She was fond of wearing skirts (the kind that go UP when you twirl around in them). One day, she was in the hallway and started doing jumping jacks (I kid you not - no idea WHY, but she was) in one of these skirts. To my horror, I found out that not only does this woman wear thongs....she wears them either WAY too small or girl's got 'em on backwards. YIKES! x:o

ritaanz

Viola! Why don't the women on whose desk she sits just tell her to remove her posterior from their desk? If she sat on my desk, I would have no problem telling her if I felt strongly about it.

You could also try explaining the word perception to her.

M in AZ

The fact the other women are "grossed out" sounds like not only you are aware of her personal dressing habits (or lack of), but so are they. Has she been sharing this with coworkers or have other people been sharing it? If she has not shared it, then she is "clueless" in more ways than one. If she has personally shared with others (still clueless) - than we can say she is borderline of sexual harrassment. Are there male coworkers in this environment that she sits on their desks as well? It is not just male vs female and female vs male.

Regardless, it is obvious this is a distraction for coworkers as well as health issues because she feels the need to sit on their desks. Knowing what you know because she shared it with you - and seeing what is happening in the office means you should speak to her. As was mentioned earlier - sitting on desks is unprofessional and will not be tolerated. Let's hope no one else feels compelled to sit on desks - as you will need to address them as well.

Cinderella

I don't care if someone is wearing underwear or not, they have no business sitting on my desk and I am responsible for telling them so. If I were the HR manager in this situation, however, I would feel comfortable with taking the person aside and tell her to knock it off for the sake of the entire office. I doubt I would bring up the underwear issue unless she was exposing herself. If she was, I would tell her to stop sitting on people's desks and ask her if she realizes she is exposing yourself. I'll wager she'll say no even if she does realize she is exposing herself. Then I would tell her it stops now, today, and if it happens again it will be see ya later Sally.

It's funny...yesterday I had to swing by a store at the mall and the lady who helped me was wearing a black bra underneath a white blouse. This woman was at least 45 years old (and sweet as pie by the way - excellent customer service). Couldn't believe it. This is what causes shake therapy to be so popular.

ritaanz

Rella, there are times when you come up with the greatest....shake therapy, I love it.

Don D

People of advanced age are often not responsible for their behavior. Write it off to her age. She probably fidgets in church and forgets where she left stuff too.

National Guard

WOW - 45 IS ADVANCED! AND OLD! How old is it?

Cinderella

I don't think 45 is old...but I learned you don't wear black bra's under white blouses when I was 12! I thought sheeeeesh this lady should know better!

rad

You're right, she should. Black bra + white shirt = dumb, unless you're preparing for your MTV video.

I used to work in a preschool and one of the family service workers came into my classroom asking for a shirt from my house area. She was wearing a tight stretch lace shirt, no underlayer. Her bra was totally visible. Its as if she had forgotten to put her real shirt on. Did I say this was a preschool? My boss promptly told her to cover up. I gave her the ugliest men's shirt I had in the dress up box x}>. Shake therapy? She needed it real bad!

Sunny

I too would just take the employee aside and chat with her briefly about, well, her briefs.

I also have an underwear story. I just had to post a notice on the BB requesting that employees not flush their underwear down the commodes. The sewer system/pump broke 3 times in the last month and went maintenance fixed it they found a pair of mens's white (well, formerly white) briefs that had been flushed. I don't believe I've ever posted a sillier notice.

Don D

I could explain it but won't. And the 'aged' remark was intended to tell all the young folks that I too think 45 is way over the hill.

Whatever

Hate to sound more paranoic than I normally am--but underneath that harsh exterior I know you can some how find something nice to say about an over 45 liberal feminist from NYC who owns some shoes but would never shop at Bloomies or Bergdorf (both of which I am told have shiny floors). If you do, I'll stop trying to convince Bill and Hill to move Mississippi.

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-04 AT 03:58PM (CST)[/font][br][br][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-04 AT 02:47 PM (CST)[/font]

I'd never suggest that you're paranoid. Although your email is inactive, your inbox is locked, your profile is disabled and you wear shades.

ritaanz

I saw that.