I Popped the Question (Kilt at Work)

[Freedomlover]

I have asked to wear my kilts to work and I was told no. I asked on what grounds and was told a kilt was not professional. I then brought up that the female employees were allowed to wear a skirt so what was the difference? They did not really have an answer but still said no. I could fight it through the union and equal employment dept. but not sure I need that kind of hassle right now. So now is all week in pants and weekends in kilts.

Tyranny prevails where ever good men keep silent.

[taxdragon]

Tyranny prevails where ever good men keep silent.

A noble sentiment for forum discussions but in the real world noble sentiments do not put food on the table. You have to know what fights to fight. While I love my kilts I love a roof over my head and food more...

[Freedomlover]

A noble sentiment for forum discussions but in the real world noble sentiments do not put food on the table. You have to know what fights to fight. While I love my kilts I love a roof over my head and food more...

Of course. But have you not had enough of other people telling you how to lead your life? Just exactly what right does one man inherently have over another to dictate such things? Economic power? That is one reason for capitulation, but since there are many employers it is not a very good one.

[taxdragon]

There is only one person with any input has to how to live my life and that is Mrs. Taxdragon. One might take on the corporate dragon and work for changes but you must never loose sight of your obligations. All decisions must be weighed with gains and losses. Taking on a large corporation with billions of dollars of resourses is not a good decision. I stand to gain the right to wear clothing of my choice but I stand to lose job, home, and piece of mind. Not a good exchange. I feel I have hijacked this thread so I will continue this discussion another time..

[Archangel]

I think before I fight that battle I better have another job. Any openings for a railroad guy/computer repairman in London, Ontario?

Actually, yes there are, if you're serious. That's my job, building choo-choos. Of course, safety rules would keep you from wearing a kilt here unless you're looking at a salary position. In that case, once you've settled in, you could give it a try. (I can give you more info about work on a pm.)

By the way, I don't think you were hijacking the thread. The context was the difficulty of getting permission. The thread was being shifted to another perspective by someone who doesn't seem to have the same job security risk that most people have. You have to choose your battles, and that's no reflection on your integrity. You don't want to risk your bread and butter and you don't want to debate with somebody who is in a different kind of job security situation than you. Sounds fair to me.

Most other posters are expressing the same frustration. Right now, there's a surplus of workers in most areas so the managers rule. When the positions reverse, which doesn't look like it's going to any practical time soon, the workers can remove nonsense rules. We'll just have to bide our time and push for some changes along the lines of things that will get the mods to shut the thread down real quick. (Respectfully following the rules because this is not the forum for that conversation.)

[Rigged]

It's tough when each of us has to fight these battles alone. But we're not a social or political movement. Kilt-wearing is not a cause to rally around, and no one is making a concerted effort to create a social or cultural context for wearing them -- unless you count those "Mock-u-mercials" on the Utilikilts website.

[Riverkilt]

There was a time, some of us olde folks remember the days, when women were told that their wearing pants to the office was "unprofessional."

Ron

[ncof300d]

There was a time, some of us olde folks remember the days, when women were told that their wearing pants to the office was "unprofessional."

Ron

Years ago my mother was a nurse in a dress. She did start to were slacks, but I don't believe that happened until the mid 1970's.

[Mr. MacDougall]

Years ago my mother was a nurse in a dress. She did start to were slacks, but I don't believe that happened until the mid 1970's.

These days we (nurses) all wear scrubs. And I just don't foresee acceptance of
a scrub kilt. So, as long as I work in the hospital, I'll be in trousers. Baggy, cotton, pajama-like trousers.