How do you become a college junior and not know enough about being in the workforce to not ask "What should I wear?" shortly after accepting a position. To me, it's common sense to know that workplaces expect you to dress a certain way. I teach in a public school. Faculty dress code is fairly "loose," but it exists. Women are expected to avoid tank tops and camisole tops unless wearing an overshirt, and sleeveless tops are frowned upon (but blouses with a full shoulder seam- so maybe 4"? are OK). Skirts/dresses of a modest length (no more than 2" above the knee) or nicer pants. We can "get away" with jeans-style pants occasionally, but not denim. Capris are OK, I'm not sure about shorts as I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear them. Women are also instructed to not wear leggings with big shirts. For the men, they need to wear nicer pants (Dockers or dress pants) and collared shirts (most wear dress shirts, occasionally you'll see a polo shirt). Ties are optional but they usually wear them. On Fridays, we have casual days; jeans and tees are OK, but camis, tank tops, etc. still are not. The men wear cargo shorts sometimes on Fridays. We are all asked to NOT wear flip-flops/thongs for safety reasons.
What gets me about this is that these kids don't really seem to have picked up on the "take home" lesson. They are upset that they weren't listened to, even though they structured an argument like those they'd seen in school. They complain that they didn't have the information about the other employee's footwear (to which they have no right) or they would have changed their argument, etc. I am not sure that they understand that there is a hierarchy in the real world and that people start at the BOTTOM and have to work their way up. Did anyone realize that this is the way the world works, or will they just continue to feel entitled and justified in their method, and try it again somewhere else?
