

Would you trust a software developer in shorts? - kyriakos

Our company&#x27;s new policy allows us to come to work in shorts and t-shirt. Whats your opinion on dress code for the IT professionals?
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kohanz
If the developer will never be customer-facing, who cares? But if there will
be customer interaction, the important question is "Will our customers trust a
software developer in shorts?".

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codeonfire
If the company is on the downward spiral or is not a tech company, then I
think everyone expects control tactics such as dress code to be attempted to
drive out the techies. If the company is a new up and coming tech company on
the upward climb to greatness then who cares what employees wear. On the
technical side, success occurs usually in spite of people that care about
dress code, so taking time and expense to impress people is the opposite of
what should be done.

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christianbryant
I wore flip-flops and skate gear in my role in IT for many years. Some of the
most brilliant developers I know wore pajamas (because they slept over at work
many nights) and Batman t-shirts with cargo shorts to meetings. I fully
support creative minds having the freedom to be comfortable. My own company
changed their policy a while back and we went from jeans and Linux Ts to
Dockers and ties. It shouldn't matter, but I know my creativity dropped after
that :)

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jjsz
Not sure how Sutherland Global Services' Activision Department, the original
one in Rochester Tech Park- not Canada, is doing- but around AT&T and other
customer service providers we were the only ones who were able to wear
anything. It ran as a startup when it first launched. It made us look less
professional and things were more informal, but people were themselves and got
the job done. Not sure if this relates but you get the idea.

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jaz
Dress code for non customer-facing employees should be relaxed. I seldom need
to be on site at a client's office, but when I am, I dress just as their
employees do - anything from a suit to business casual. Otherwise, I wear
shorts and flip flops in the office, as do most of my coworkers.

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rdouble
Cal Henderson, the guy who made Flickr, doesn't seem to own a pair of long
pants. Also when I met Paul Graham, he was in shorts. So, yeah, I'd trust a
software developer in shorts.

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zachlatta
Depends on the company. Where I work you'd stick out like a sore thumb if you
came in wearing anything but t-shirts and jeans (or shorts).

