One woman’s co-worker complained about her office attire, so she turned to TikTok to ask if she was in the wrong.
With many companies shelling out return-to-office mandates — many Gen Z and millennial employees — are confused about what is considered appropriate workplace attire these days.
Working at an affordable housing non-profit in California, on a regular workday, Alejandra Carreño opted for a black long-sleeved top, heeled shoes and jean shorts.
These weren’t Daisy Duke shorts by any means. But supposedly, people were still up in arms over them.
In a TikTok video — viewed by over 11 million people — Carreño showed off the infamous outfit and wrote,”‘Are my shorts inappropriate for work? Asking because someone complained about them.”
In an interview with People, the employee gave more context, explaining that some of her co-workers commented on her outfit the day she wore it — but it didn’t seem like anything she should be concerned about until her denim cutoffs were brought up in a meeting that same day.
“Oh, before I forget, I do have to tell you that someone mentioned a complaint about your shorts. Short shorts aren’t allowed,” Carreño recalled her manager saying to her in the interview.
“To me, they seemed fine. I didn’t see anything wrong with them. I think you look nice, but unfortunately, I do need to let you know we can’t wear short shorts or short skirts,” her manager continued.
Talk about confusing rules.
Although the woman didn’t see this rule anywhere in the company’s handbook — according to the many comments on Carreño’s video, there still seems to be an unspoken rule that shorts of any kind should not be worn in the workplace.
“As an HR Manager.. if you’re in corporate America i cannot think of an instance where shorts are appropriate,” one comment read.
“Shorts should never be in an office,” someone else chimed in.
“Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with being revealing. as an HR professional, denim shorts are never going to be appropriate in an office/corporate environment,” agreed another commenter.
“Just because something isn’t revealing doesn’t necessarily make it appropriate for work,” another great point made by someone else.
“I’m confused how this outfit left the house in the first place,” quipped another commenter.
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