crap at work for wearing "Gym clothes" and eating at my desk

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Replies

  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    I think your clothes look fine - like some said - just make sure you aren't sweating through - my boss sometimes comes in from the gym - I can't stand it when he comes to my desk and it has nothing to do with the clothes he has on!

    Shoes - keep a pair of simple flats in your desk drawer - I've done that - just to slip into them and put your walking shoes away at the office. That is reasonable.

    Eating at your desk. Depends on what it is. I can do it (there are only 3 of us in the office and yet I rarely do it) If it smells it may be bothering someone. If someone thinks you are getting extra time because you walk and then come back and eat at your desk - that is another story. I almost always eat in the kitchen and walk for only the remaining time I have left. I've got a more relaxed atmosphere - but even when I was in big firm - I I made sure I was back at my desk ready to work - I wasn't paid to be eating - or online - or on my cell phone. (my current bosses don't care as long as my work is done.)

    Good luck
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    If it's not your boss complaining, ignore the comments. It's nobody else's business what you wear.

    If you are dressing as in the exemplar photo, you look fine.

    It's all politics, and there are always people who like to stir the pot, which makes it all about them and nothing about you.

    The food is another issue.

    Put your exercise shoes away while in the office and wear steadier shoes.
  • bellesouth18
    bellesouth18 Posts: 1,071 Member
    The clothes in the picture look perfectly fine to me--even sleeveless without a sweater. Keep your gym shoes in a drawer if you have to. But I'd honor what your boss wants you to do. Be the better person out of the group.
  • brittany2188
    brittany2188 Posts: 63
    Sounds like you work with an office full of women. Get a thick skin and tough it out. It might suck, but listen to your boss. Being insubordinate will most likely get you fired. Your revenge will be reaching your ultimate weight loss goal. :laugh:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Someone sounds jealous that you won. Maybe consider changing from gym shoes into work shoes at the car? Don't let it get you down or make you stop what you're doing. Life is going to throw obstacles at you all the time and you have to roll with the punches. Just don't slack and keep vigilant about looking "proper" or whatever for a while and hopefully this will all blow over.

    This. You look great, and your outfit is cute, certainly not anything I'd wear to the gym.
  • AlwaysInMotion
    AlwaysInMotion Posts: 409 Member
    Aaaaaaaaand you look just fine for your work environment. Agreed, I'm making some presumptions based on what you mentioned and your pic...

    I have no tolerance for such cattiness from people who you consider friends and acquaintances at work. When some ladies got jealous/weird with me when I lost all my weight (several years ago now), I just turned up my work wardrobe a notch higher.

    I gradually introduced several "improvements" - like new accessories (things like a cute necklace, a new belt, some colorful scarves), I got a new haircut, and I retired some of my older or looser clothing and replace them with new. For example, I bought some better fitting pants, pretty knee-length skirts, and a few new cardigans in cute, seasonal colors... I was still wearing essentially the type of outfits, but my wardrobe seemed a lot sharper & fresher. If people are going to comment on your work appearance, let it be because you look even BETTER than they do now.

    Good luck and don't let people make you feel bad about yourself. They don't deserve that power over you.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You jog at lunch without changing your shirt? Maybe the problem is that you smell bad, but they didn't want to be rude? I certainly would stink if I ran/sweated in my work clothing and then just threw a sweater back over. If that is the case you ARE working in your workout clothes (since you worked out in them).

    She said walk, not jog. I do the same thing. I'm not trying to break a sweat, just trying to move my body instead of sitting.
  • Lives2Travel
    Lives2Travel Posts: 682 Member
    This thread makes me happy that I work from home. My dog never complains. In fact, his motto is "the stinkier the better". He LOVES it when I come home from a work out all sweaty.
  • dmenchac
    dmenchac Posts: 447 Member
    Gym clothes aren't "business casual." Maybe you should worry more about adhering to the rules, and worry less about what other people are doing.

    Maybe you should actually read what she wrote.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    My advice would be to kill them with kindness -- play the totally clueless care with your boss. Ask very specific questions about workplace guidelines and HR policies. My guess is that this is some busybody in your office complaining to your boss and he/she is just passing the buck --- and doesn't really want to deal with it beyond reporting the comment to you. Make sure your boss feels heard and that you're responsive to his/her concerns but ask him/her to explain exactly what needs to be changed (I imagine he/she doesn't really know). You could also recommend speaking to the HR person about this so you can be absolutely sure that you're doing what needs to be done.

    For IT, I can't believe anyone is complaining. Shoot, I know folks that literally don't wear shoes in IT. It's shocking to me that anyone would complain, unless you're in a very white shoe environment like a law firm or financial services company.

    As for the food, yeah, that's ridiculous. I really do think many people need to get over themselves in an office environment. If you don't want anyone to drink tea around you or cook their left over chinese in the microwave, then you need to work at a place that either doesn't allow that or work from home. Part of working in such places is just getting over yourself and realizing that you have to bend to accommodate others (as they have to bend to accommodate you).
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Smells like sour grapes to me. Sorry you are having to deal with this OP. :frown:
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    You jog at lunch without changing your shirt? Maybe the problem is that you smell bad, but they didn't want to be rude? I certainly would stink if I ran/sweated in my work clothing and then just threw a sweater back over. If that is the case you ARE working in your workout clothes (since you worked out in them).

    She said walk, not jog. I do the same thing. I'm not trying to break a sweat, just trying to move my body instead of sitting.

    Actually she said:
    I usually go for a walk or jog during lunch and then eat at my desk right after.

    Walking is fine. I do the same. Jogging is a different story. ETA: If it is just walking, then I vote for the "They are jealous because you won the challenge" theory.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    A little about myself:

    I work in a business district where everyone at my work dresses business casual, here in SoCal weather. It is common practice to see people running around in the streets with gym clothes, casual, business clothes with running shoes.

    I just finished the Biggest Loser competition at work (10 weeks) in first place but I'm still somewhat continuing my normal routine. I usually go for a walk or jog during lunch and then eat at my desk right after. I work in IT so I can't wear heels as a lady who may need to haul some equipment. I have to be wearing comfortable enough clothes. I have a workout buddy during lunch and she has been working here for 10 years. I just started last year. She wears a t shirt for longer periods of time than I do but she didn't get crap for it.

    I wear something like this to work:

    (sorry this picture was taken online but it was the best description I could find)
    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UL3nAuiQRrI/Uj92EfOG4FI/AAAAAAAAAuk/uXGG2K1y_To/s640/blogger-image-1859456157.jpg

    I walk outside and remove my sweater. I come back inside for 5 minutes and cool off every time. Then I put my sweater back on. I never wore shorts to work (absolutely against the rules), and my boss told me just recently that someone told him that I was wearing gym clothes to work on a day he wasn't here. I never change how I dress. He's fine with how I dress but he told me that I should look into this.

    On top of that I was told to stop eating at my desk while I work (everyone does this all the time) and to hide my gym shoes where it can't be seen. I have a good relationship with everyone in my office but I don't know why I got this crap from anonymous people.

    I know I may be overreacting but it really hit me hard since no one has told me and it just hit me like someone was super offended by the way I dress like in that picture. How should I approach this? I'm trying to brush this off but it made me so upset I skipped out on gym last night (I usually go every day).

    You rubbed a coworker the wrong way somehow, could be as simple as having lost the most weight. They are petty and are doing what they can to get back at you. It happens, people can be really petty.
  • lasarabande
    lasarabande Posts: 22 Member
    A little about myself:

    I work in a business district where everyone at my work dresses business casual, here in SoCal weather. It is common practice to see people running around in the streets with gym clothes, casual, business clothes with running shoes.

    I just finished the Biggest Loser competition at work (10 weeks) in first place but I'm still somewhat continuing my normal routine. I usually go for a walk or jog during lunch and then eat at my desk right after. I work in IT so I can't wear heels as a lady who may need to haul some equipment. I have to be wearing comfortable enough clothes. I have a workout buddy during lunch and she has been working here for 10 years. I just started last year. She wears a t shirt for longer periods of time than I do but she didn't get crap for it.

    I wear something like this to work:

    (sorry this picture was taken online but it was the best description I could find)
    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UL3nAuiQRrI/Uj92EfOG4FI/AAAAAAAAAuk/uXGG2K1y_To/s640/blogger-image-1859456157.jpg

    I walk outside and remove my sweater. I come back inside for 5 minutes and cool off every time. Then I put my sweater back on. I never wore shorts to work (absolutely against the rules), and my boss told me just recently that someone told him that I was wearing gym clothes to work on a day he wasn't here. I never change how I dress. He's fine with how I dress but he told me that I should look into this.

    On top of that I was told to stop eating at my desk while I work (everyone does this all the time) and to hide my gym shoes where it can't be seen. I have a good relationship with everyone in my office but I don't know why I got this crap from anonymous people.

    I know I may be overreacting but it really hit me hard since no one has told me and it just hit me like someone was super offended by the way I dress like in that picture. How should I approach this? I'm trying to brush this off but it made me so upset I skipped out on gym last night (I usually go every day).

    Stuff to add:

    - I eat the same stuff everyday for lunch. Steamed veggies (no extra stuff), green tea, and a blended up shake. None of these smell at all from a distance. I even asked people and they say it doesn't smell.

    - I do change from work-appropriate shoes (flat, closed toe shoes since I work IT) to gym shoes and keep them well tucked under my desk.

    - The picture in the link is not me but a picture I found off google that best describes what I wear to work.

    - I'm not a sweaty person and I don't drench like crazy when I go for a moderate walk outside.

    - I forgot to mention my workout buddy during lunch who wears the T-shirt was my partner in my biggest loser team (they take the avg % of weight loss in that contest between the two) and we both won 1st place, so it wasn't just me.

    - No one in my IT dept. has complained about these. These were from outside of our dept.
  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
    I had someone in my old office building always burning popcorn in the microwave. Dozens of offices were always impacted. Never found out who was doing it. There was also some lady that heated up some kind of strange smelling fish frequently...made me want to gag...and the smell would get integrated into my clothing from afar so I could smell it on my car ride home. Ugh. I am glad I changed buildings.

    But sometimes people nuke stuff that smell delicious to me and eat at their desks. Makes it hard to concentrate on work!
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    You jog at lunch without changing your shirt? Maybe the problem is that you smell bad, but they didn't want to be rude? I certainly would stink if I ran/sweated in my work clothing and then just threw a sweater back over. If that is the case you ARE working in your workout clothes (since you worked out in them).

    She said walk, not jog. I do the same thing. I'm not trying to break a sweat, just trying to move my body instead of sitting.

    Actually she said "I usually go for a walk or jog during lunch and then eat at my desk right after."

    So - walk or jog and then no shower.

    OP: are you stinky?
  • lasarabande
    lasarabande Posts: 22 Member
    You jog at lunch without changing your shirt? Maybe the problem is that you smell bad, but they didn't want to be rude? I certainly would stink if I ran/sweated in my work clothing and then just threw a sweater back over. If that is the case you ARE working in your workout clothes (since you worked out in them).

    She said walk, not jog. I do the same thing. I'm not trying to break a sweat, just trying to move my body instead of sitting.

    Actually she said "I usually go for a walk or jog during lunch and then eat at my desk right after."

    So - walk or jog and then no shower.

    OP: are you stinky?

    No. I even had my dude coworker smell me and he says I'm fine.
  • defauIt
    defauIt Posts: 118 Member
    Definitely jealousy and/or sexism. A lot of times men can dress down while women in the same work place are expected to wear dresses, skirts etc... Either way, you're dressed totally fine. I wouldn't change anything if I were you.

    Whaaaaaaat? We must be living in alternate universes, women can get away with murder and have it count as business casual in every company I've ever worked for. Pretty much anything that's not jeans or yoga pants or a tank top are good to go for women where as men are required to wear dress pants or khakis with a dress shirt.

    I'd kill to wear a nice breezy kilt on a scorching summer's day.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Gym clothes aren't "business casual." Maybe you should worry more about adhering to the rules, and worry less about what other people are doing.

    Maybe you should actually read what she wrote.
    I work in a business district where everyone at my work dresses business casual.

    Seems pretty straight forward to me. The rest of the post is various rationalizations and justifications as to why she shouldn't have to adhere to the dress code. "Other people do it," is kindergartner level logic, not valid reasoning.

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