Today being your first day in the office, you are exhilarated, anxious, excited, nervous…. and in pain. Ouch! You are already dreading that walk to the boss’s cabin; not because you have done something wrong and expect a good firing, but it’s because you’re wearing the wrong shoes to work!
Office attire can be a tricky ensemble to assemble, as you have to keep in mind the professional setting along with the current fashion trends. You certainly don’t want to look like you don’t belong, right? So you go with the tried and tested tie, belt and spit polished shoe’s if you are a man and the high heels along with a tight skirt if you are a woman. The end result, however is pain! But along with the pain, did you know that your office attire could also make you quite sick?
Can my Office attire make me sick?
Of course, it can, especially if you are not comfortable in what you wear. As the old saying goes, ‘You are what you wear’. And if you find yourself being uncomfortable in what you choose to wear, it’s going to reflect in your behavior and work too! Many a times, in their efforts to abide by office etiquette, men end up wearing a tie and a coat and women stick to the full sleeve button ups and their high heels, which are not the most comfortable pieces of clothing considering the Indian climate!
Most of us in our efforts to look prim and proper, wear fitting clothes which directly translate to tight shirts, ties, belts, pants and skirts. Any object that puts undue pressure on the body is bound to cause discomfort to the body. This discomfort often manifests itself in many forms such as pain, breathlessness etc.
How can my office attire make me sick?
While dressing up for work, it is important that one keeps in mind their comfort levels with the clothing items, rather than anything else! If care is not taken, then office attire will make sick. Still don’t believe us? Read on to know, and you might want to re-think your office attire, the next time you are getting dressed for work!
Don’t let the tie, tie you up!
Neck Ties have long been considered the symbol of professionalism! And is usually, the first thing that comes to mind, whenever one wants to dress up for office. But did you know that these ties if worn tight can cause blindness! Quite Shocking, but true! A research conducted on people who preferred their ties knotted tight, found out that those people were most likely to see a rise in the fluid pressure in their eyeballs, or in their ‘intraocular pressure’, which could lead to Glaucoma!
Researchers point out that even the ‘slightly uncomfortable ties’ were enough to put pressure on the jugular vein of the wearer, thereby interrupting the return blood flow from head to the heart. This leads to increase in the fluid pressure in the eyeball and causes damage to the retina, leading to glaucoma which in turn causes irreversible blindness.
Our advice: Wear the tie, only when necessary and if the situation warrants wearing a tie compulsorily, loosen it up, after a while.
Don’t pull too much on that belt!
We, Indians with our bulging waistlines rely way too much on the belt to hold our pants up. This over reliance is also the reason why most of us suffer from heart burn and acid reflux. ‘How?’ you ask! It’s quite simple. When you wear a tight belt to your office; where most of your time is spent sitting at your desk, it puts an awful lot of pressure on your stomach.
Imagine, you have just eaten your lunch, with a tight belt on. The belt puts pressure on your abdominal region, causing the acid to get thrown back into the esophagus rather than going into the stomach, this leads to a burning sensation along with an acidic taste in your mouth.This is known as acid reflux or heart burn. Furthermore, tight belts also cause gas problems and disturb your bowel movements.
Our advice: Loosen up the belt and go easy on that stomach! A comfortable belt would hold up your pants, without putting any pressure on your stomach.
Wrong Shoes are just that, wrong!
Getting back to the topic of you dreading that walk to the boss’s cabin, because of pain of course! Just take a look at your feet; you are probably wearing the wrong shoes. Women are mostly guilty of this crime, when it comes to the work place attire.
‘Shoes complete your look’, while this saying is quite true. Do; go easy on the high heels and shoes that narrow a lot towards the front. While letting go of those beloved high heels might prove painful, any thought of suffering from Achilles tendon, corns, calluses along with ingrown toe nails, swollen ankles and recurrent sharp pain in the balls of the foot, should be enough to convince you to do otherwise! Men, these days with their tapered front shoes are also found suffering from foot ailments.
Our advice: Dump the fancy foot wear, stick to comfortable shoes! They are bound to carry you ahead of others.
Tight hairdo’s cause headaches!
When one finds themselves part of the hospitality business, there is no other alternative but to slip into the professional garb! For women, this includes having their hair pulled back into a bun or a neat ponytail, without a hair out of place. While these spic and span hairstyles can make you look like a true professional, they can also guarantee a good splitting headache! Tightly pulled hair puts strain on the connective tissue of the scalp and leads to what is commonly known as ‘headache hairdo’. Accessories such as hair bands, clips, pins can also contribute to hairdo headaches.
Our advice: If the headache doesn’t subside after letting your hair down, consult a doctor as it might point towards a migraine!
So, now that you know the source of your pain and discomforts are your clothes along with your shoes, and not your boss! We are sure you will switch to healthier clothing options!
