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High heels and slips, trips and falls in office environments
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Posted By hogwarts
I have been asked to sensitively address the issue of high heels/appropriate footware in my corporate headquarters. Does anyone have any experience in this area or any helpful tips and hints I might be able to use? I am not relishing this challenge - am a female myself and the issue raised through casual conversation almost left me hung drawn and quartered by fellow female colleagues....
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Posted By Andy Petrie
If people chose to wear high heels outside work then I see no reason that they should not wear them in the office provided that there is nothing to increase the risk over and above what they normally encounter.
If I had badly work carpets or a very slippy floor then I would be worried, but a normal well maintained office should not be a problem.
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Posted By willhiem
oh no! its back!!
there was quite a thread on this before, if you do a search i'm sure you'll come across it!!
i hope you've plenty of time for reading!
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Posted By Lilian McCartney
As said previously it'll depend onw hat they are doing.
In an office where I used to work high heels were worn but when the person had to go to the file store (archive) which had meal walkways they were 'instructed' to wear suitabl;e footwear (heels going down the gaps).
Lilian
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Posted By John Howells
A female wearing high heels on a site I work at, tripped down a small flight of steps after her trousers got caught in her heel. Would it have happened with sensible shoes? Personally, I think not.
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Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy
Why do women wear high heels? Or am I missing something.
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Posted By Bossa nova
Why do men wear high heels (I know why I do!) Willeim on the ball this has been discussed in some detail recently.
Bossa Nova
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Posted By Sen Sar
Tony
It not just us girls.
Just Google high heels for men and you too can try!!
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Posted By Sharon
We wear them for a couple of reasons:
1 - They accentuate our legs
2 - To look sexy
3 - Some women just can't wear flats
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Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy
Is that not sexist?
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Posted By Sen Sar
Nothing sexist about enhancing your attributes !
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Posted By Bossa nova
I'm with the girls on this one, why do plants have flowers?
Supernova
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Posted By MickN
I worked on a construction project where one male wore cowboy boots! Steel toe and all.
You cannot ban them.
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Posted By Sharon
I mean you have to ask yourself:
Why are soft drinks in round containers while milk cartons are rectangular?
And why did kamikaze pilots bother with helmets?
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Posted By Teresa Budworth
Personally I wear them to avoid being at armpit height to the rest of the population. I even have high heeled (well about 2") steel toe-capped shoes.
One other factor in your risk assessment is the competence of the wearer. Most of us have been practicing since we were 13.
In other words I can do everything another safety professional can do, but backwards, in heels!
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Posted By John Howells
I get the impression it ok to wear high heels around the office, as long as long trousers don't interfer. Is there an acceptable height for skirts? (Ref Sharon 3 point reasons)
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Posted By Steve Cartwright
Hogwarts
I would not ban high heels on the grounds of health and safety unless there was a real risk. In a recent case a judge stated that the risk had to be real and not a fanciful one.
If Director/Manager wants to ban high heels they should be brave enough to make the decision themselves and not hide behind health and safety.
As some have already stated women have worn high heels for years so unless you have any evidence to back up what you intend to do, get your flack jacket ready.
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Posted By water67.
The Only way I can see around this is if a risk assessment indicates these are unsuitable, you then supply shoes of a different style and enforce the use of these you may be able to get away with it..but think you might find u get a lot a flack..and not sure if you could ever "pockle" a RA enough to get this outcome in an office.
on Kamikaze pilots and helmets..did you hear about the Irish kamikaze pilot... flew 16 missions!!!! apologies to our Irish pals no offence meant..honest!!!!
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Posted By Sharon
John,
I think the height of the skirt would depend on how old you are, how long your legs are, and how high you heels are.....also what the current fashion is!
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Posted By John J
I have had the same issue in the past but we have not banned high heels just advised caution when wearing trousers.
I have far more issues with flat soled shoes/trainers slipping on wet ground.
John
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Posted By Sharon
Not to mention the sling backs and flip flops!
We have had then all over the time.....
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Posted By Philip McAleenan
DJ Water,
your apologies are insufficient to justify this inappropriate attempt at humour. It is offensive; have it removed from this thread.
Philip
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Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy
Philip
How is that offensive...it is a joke. Do you not understand how that works?
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Posted By John J
Well for starters why does he have to be Irish
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Posted By water67.
link to sense of humour transplant site.
haf a laff fir yer sool.2serious.comedy
Cheers
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Posted By hogwarts
The issue has been a spate of near misses with people (specifically women in high heels, the main culprit being stilletos) slipping on a marble reception area in wet weather. All other shoe wearers do not appear to have this problem and have even tested myself so the issue i think is with the shoe. We have performed various tests on the surface including hte application of anti-slip chemicals and investigated etching/scoring the surface but cannot find pragmatic solution. We are loath to introduce a formal dresscode policy due to the liberal social environment of the country we are based in and it's not something i would like personally.
Anyone got any bright ideas about marble floors and anti-slip solutions then...
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Posted By water67.
if he was japanese it wouldn't work..
if he was scots he would want to land the plane and have a real fight..
if he was english he want to discuss it over a cup of tea.
if welsh we never get through the sing song.
ok offended everybody.. except those with a sense of humour..i hope.
off fri and monday..thank god..
Cheers
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Posted By John Howells
I'm Welsh and not offended boyo!
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Posted By IOSH Moderator
Please could the Moderators remind the participants in this thread that:
Humour can indeed cause serious offence (please see the events in the BBC recently for ample evidence of this).
If a thread is hi-jacked and goes seriously off-topic it may be locked.
We have received complaints regarding this thread, so its continuation is currently in the balance.
Regards
Jane Blunt
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Posted By Bossa nova
Hogwarts,
Have you considered a carpeted concourse?
Supernova
It's Friday anyone got any relegious jokes?
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Posted By Rob W
"We have received complaints regarding this thread, so its continuation is currently in the balance."
Let's not as safety professionals be affected by the current media witchhunt, unreasonably scared of offending people. ( No matter what opinions are voiced, they are bound to offend someone )
I'd like to complain that so many messages have been removed and I have lost the opportunity to decide if they are offensive for myself, I'm offended by this.
Political correctness gone mad.
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High heels and slips, trips and falls in office environments
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