Barefoot at work

I had a phone survey job and the nice boss would let us be barefoot but she left and her replacement was VERY picky about how we dressed. SILLY! We are on the phone! We could be naked and wearing only deely bobbers and none of the people at other end would know! But alas that supervisor wasn't exaclty er brilliant..

had another job in phone sales and I would be bare foot which was great except for the day I ran to the bathroom and the floor was wet-could be water right? Well, it wasn't!! ewwwwwwwwwww
peace
Delfynasa

 

I've been planting trees at the reserve (www.watersedgecountrypark.org) over Easter, so i got plenty of freshly dug earth between my toes...

 

I'm a grad student and teaching assistant, and luckily, being barefoot has not been a problem. Cheers!

 

I work barefooted all the time, but then again...I work for my self at home sewing skirts, and have always preferred using the sewing machine barefooted...I can control the pedal tons better that way ^_^

 

I would LOVE to have a job where I could be barefoot all the time, especially if I could work from home. That would be a dream come true.

 

my dr doesn't want me going barefoot-said it would make my feet hurt more...gotta wear supportive shoes now or something...sigh

 

Well, he said it would... but I bet it doesn't, or does it? Even though doctors sometimes bask in their light of being "the Gods in white smocks", they aren't all-knowing. And if you know that walking barefoot is indeed having an opposite effect (less pain and more well-being) then I'd disregard that particular piece of advice... There's ample evidence out there provided by podiatrists that walking barefoot is indeed a healthy thing.

Wiggling toes encouragingly,

~*Ganesha*~

 

Twaddle lol. Had to get the train for a couple of days to my week work - includes a mile walk either end - was wearing suit style shoes (not really good for walking any distance) & got a huge deep blister on my heel but as my heels are tough from spending a lot of time bf it's not bothering me at all.

Spent most of time at weekend work this weekend bf. Was tending to a fire we had going and stood on a hot ember which stuck to my foot, brushed it off then stood on it again Doh - so got two blisters on other foot. Again though soles thick, so only bothered me for a few moments until I went I stood in the sea for a few minutes

So what I'm saying in a long winded waffleing way is that whether you wear shoes or not you can still get injuries, so you might as well be comfy & go bf.

 

Getting back to the topic of working barefoot, how many of you American hippies have jobs that allow you to work barefoot and what line of work do you do?

 

I have a work from home position that pays extremely well. To qualify for the position I had 22 years of on-site industrial experience. This is important for two reasons: 1) it takes years to get the level of expertise required to work independently, and 2) my employer needs to know that I've demonstrated a work ethic that he/she can trust me to perform my job unsupervised.

For the short term while you're in school you may be able to find a position that affords you the flexibility you're seeking. Beyond that, most, if not all, of the better paying, permanent positions, especially professional positions, will require working in an office environment which requires wearing shoes.

 

Maybe becoming a buddhist monk would work. I've given it some thought.

 

Excellent! I believe you may have hit on one of the few positions that would allow you to work barefoot, as an entry-level person, and have long-term security.

 

I do. Graduate teaching assistant. All that matters is that none of the professors or administrators care about bare feet, and as you've seen, they typically don't at the collegiate level.

You could become a barefoot professor, as well, but there's a lot of competition for academic jobs, especially if you're in a field where Ph.D.'s can only find work as a professor.

I suppose some university support positions, depending on the culture surrounding them, would be good barefoot jobs, so long as your supervisor isn't uptight about it. IT/sysadmin would especially be good, so long as you're not in charge of physically setting up computers. (Then who knows what rule might be in place to protect you from dropping computers on your feet.)

 

You and your colleagues would probably be *required* to work barefoot Even better for someone who enjoys being barefoot!

Also, you could consider joining discalced Catholic orders, like the Franciscans, even though they allow sandals. Just make sure the head clergyman doesn't make you wear sandals, though.

 

Agreed, one of the Catholic orders works too and you could be extremely escetic and refuse sandals. Theres a huge Fransican monastery in nyc next to Penn station....hmmmm. Well there's also yoga instructor or professional lifeguard but they be physically strenuous or in the latter case comes with a lot of responsibility (though a killer tan)....monk seems best.

 

However, even though the huge advantage of that career is permanent barefooting, there is that ascetic part to it... you win the trademark hippie footwear, but lose the trademark hippie weed, free love (at least the part with the body fluids...), nudity... Consider and choose wisely.

Wiggling spiritual, yet definitely NOT ascetic bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

 

It's too bad that all of these are not something I could immediately apply for. You need years of training and a special degree for them. Even lifeguard or religious positions require a special skillset.

 

The only other one I can think of might be a car wash (I'd only consider it in the summer). Well there is also Hollister's. The employees appear to be required to wear flips so I imagine they'd love someone willing to work barefoot. Even their mannequins are pointedly barefoot.

 

Privilege doesn't come without pain. Your generation seems to want everything as a new hire. Sometimes you've gotta pay your dues first.

 

The training for becoming a lifeguard probably isn't too bad, given that teenagers can do it as a summer job. Perhaps you could get on-the-job training for the religious positions after converting to the religion (becoming Catholic would take a year or two).

I like the car wash attendant idea - there's gotta be someone who would let (or even encourage) you to work barefoot. If you could own a car wash, that would be even better - you could encourage your employees to work barefoot, too!

Speaking of ownership, perhaps owning your own business is a good way to dress how you want. However, you might have to "pay your dues" for a bit in order to save up enough money and/or get enough credit to start off.