I think most offices, at this point, have transitioned from their pandemic policies to whatever is next for the company policy — I know this can create a lot of flux! I’m curious: What is your ideal work location, if you could choose? What is your current work situation, and does it reflect your ideal?

Here are the questions:

• How has your company’s policy changed, and do you think it’s still in flux?
• Are you in the office all the time, or only some of the time?
• Do you still have your own office or cubicle, or are you hot-desking?
• If you’re remote for some or all of the time, do you prefer to WFH — or somewhere else, like a coffee shop?
• (If you live with other people, how has their situation(s) affected yours?)
• What is your ideal work location, and are you seeking a new job because of it (seeking all remote work or all in-office work?)

I’d also wonder how seniority plays into this — I’ve seen a lot of chatter about how hard it is to teach new lawyers how to be lawyers remotely, for example.

As I noted back in early 2020, also, working from home doesn’t necessarily mean working from your kitchen table. Some people prefer to go to coffee shops, libraries, or even hotel lobbies to get their work done. Having your own office, set up just for you, makes a huge difference also! Depending on your company policy, you could even become a digital nomad and live elsewhere in the country or world.

What is your ideal work location this year — office, WFH, remote, or hybrid?

Stock photo via Stencil.

The post The Ideal Work Location: The Office, WFH, Remote, or Hybrid? appeared first on Corporette.com.

If you could pick any office, which would you choose? What factors would help you choose the best office? Reader C wonders…

I’m thrilled to have accepted a new job! I’m an attorney in my late 20s making a lateral move to a mid-size boutique firm after five years with my current shop. Of all the things on my to do list, one is really stumping me.

In discussion with the office manager of my new firm-to-be, we arranged a day for me to come by in a week to deal with paperwork, etc. before I start. She told me I could pick my office that day, so it could be set up for me. I said, “Great!” Then I hung up the phone and thought, “What?”

Other than the obviously draw of bigger + more light — what should I think about or ask when I get to choose my own office? As a luxury I didn’t have at my first job out of law school, it feels like an opportunity that might (but not necessarily will) be seen as a strategic choice. There will be associates both senior and junior to me, and I’d hate to unwittingly end up in territory typically reserved for interns (especially because I look so young). Am I overthinking this?

Aaah, the pressure — I feel for you, Reader C. We’ve talked about whether location or size matters for offices, as well as how to decorate your first office, and what to keep in your desk, but we haven’t explicitly talked about this. Some considerations:

• Who will you be working with, and where are they located? You may not know the answer to this (or the answer may be, “everyone!”), in which case, skip to the next question. If, however, you have a specific practice area or niche, there may be at least one or two likely people who you’ll be working with all the time. I would suggest discreetly finding out where their offices are before you go. This gives you more information; the next part of the question is whether you want to be near them, or far from them. Speaking as an introvert who hates to be bugged in the middle of a thought, I’d rather be a half a hallway away from someone I work with often rather than right next door — but being on another floor would feel like I was “hiding” in my office.
• If you want to make partner at the firm, who will advance your career? Finding sponsors and mentors is only part of the game — the other part is making a name for yourself with the actual decision makers. At my old firm there was a very small Executive Committee that ultimately made hiring/firing decisions, even though there were 70+ partners. If I were trying to make partner, I’d try to choose an office somewhere visible to a member of that committee, and use it as an easy way to get to know him or her.

Of course, visibility has its pluses and its minuses — if you are punctuality challenged and tend to arrive late, or hope to leave on the “early” side a lot (even if you plan to work from home), you may want an office in a less visible location (and then just try to make yourself visible and known to the Powers That Be otherwise in the course of your day).

After factoring in these job considerations, I’d ask myself the major questions — which direction does the building face; do you want morning or afternoon light; does one office smell (or is it located somewhere potentially smelly, such as near the kitchen); can you immediately tell that one office is located next to a screamer — and so forth. If you see five offices and one of them is much, much bigger than the rest and vacant, I would wonder what the catch was, to be honest. Finally, I’d ask myself what I needed to reuse pieces of existing decor I already owned — if you have a huge painting, you need a large blank wall. If you have a couch, you need a long wall not near a filing cabinet — etc., etc.

Readers, how about you — if you could choose any office, which would you choose? What factors would you consider?

Pictured: New office, originally uploaded to Flickr by Michael Kumm.   

Workwear sales of note for 1.21.24

Our favorites are in bold!

• Amour Vert – End of season clearance: up to 70% off (readers love this short-sleeved silk blouse, some colors down to $59)
• Ann Taylor – 25% off full-price purchase, and extra 60% off 2+ sale styles (ends 1/22)
• Banana Republic – Up to 60% off sale styles plus an extra 25% off sale styles (ends 1/23)
• Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything plus extra 20% off purchase
• Club Monaco – Extra 60% off all sale
• Eloquii – $19+ select styles; 40% off everything else
• Everlane – Up to 70% off sale; reader favorites include the Dream Pant, their ReNew Transit backpack, silk blouses and their oversized blazers!
• J.Crew – Winter layers $24.50+; select cashmere from $49.50; up to extra 60% sale styles — readers love this blazer, this blazer, these pants, and their sweater blazers
• J.Crew Factory – Extra 70% off clearance; up to 60% off everything; readers love the schoolboy sweater blazer
• Lands’ End – Sleepwear from $19; 60% off everything else plus free shipping
• Nordstrom – 5x the points on beauty; sale, new markdowns added
• Reiss – Up to 60% off
• Talbots – Extra 60% off markdown sweaters, coats, scarves, and shoes; 50% off all other markdowns (here are all the reader favorites at Talbots)

Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Stay tuned for a list of our latest threadjacks!

The post How to Choose the Best Office appeared first on Corporette.com.

2018 Update: We still think this is a fascinating discussion of how to have a comfortable and pain-free office — but you may want to check out our more recent discussion on how to get better ergonomics at the office.

Here’s something we’re curious about:  How many of you have picked out your own desk chairs, keyboard drawers, and so forth in an effort to make your office more ergonomic and comfortable? Which brands have you found to be the best?

We’ve read a million articles about how — without the right set-up — your office could be causing you back pain, headaches, eye strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and more. In terms of eye strain, we’ve noticed a huge difference in a flat-screen monitor versus one of the old CRT monitors. We also prefer a keyboard tray versus having our keyboard sitting on top of our desk. Otherwise, we are far from experts on the subjects, so thought we would turn to you guys. Does anyone swear by the Aeron chair? Did changing the “refresh rate” for your monitor change your life? Do tell — what are your best tips for a comfortable and pain-free office?

(Pictured:  Ergonomics matters, originally uploaded to Flickr by Ezu.)

Further reading:
Office Ergonomics, WebMD

How to Ease Back and Neck Pain at the Office, eHow

The post Open Thread: A Comfortable and Pain-Free Office… appeared first on Corporette.com.

Top Posts of 2009

1. Building Your Wardrobe For Your Summer Internship
2. Open Thread: Ponytails at the Office: Yay or Nay?
3. The Hunt: Appropriate Bags for Summer Associates
4. Poll: When Wearing A Collared Shirt and Blazer, Does the Collar Go Out or In?
5. Corporette 101:  The Old Mirror Trick
6. What to Wear When You’re Laid Off and Looking
7. How to Wear Silk Scarves?
8. Reader Mail: Can I Take Leftovers From My Business Lunch?
9. A Bun in the Oven and a Mother in Court
10. Emergency Mailbag:  Should she “Friend” her boss on Facebook?

Top posts of all time:
1. 10 Things to Know About Wearing Button-Down Shirts
2. Building Your Wardrobe For Your Summer Internship
3. What to Wear on Interviews Generally
4. What to Wear to Work on the Weekend
5. 10 Things You Should Know About a Business Lunch

Are any of your favorite posts not on the list? Let us know — we’d love to hear what your favorite content is.

The post Top 10 Posts of 2009 appeared first on Corporette.com.

About a week and a half ago, we asked a pivotal question: at what point does a high heel become TOO high for work? As always, the poll is still open, but the initial results are in:

– 44% of readers said a medium heel height was most appropriate for work — 3.5″ being the absolute highest.

– 33% said 3.5″ or higher was acceptable, so long as the shoe itself was appropriate for work — nothing a teenager would wear.

– 12% said any heel height was fine, so long as you could walk in it

– 9% said low heels were the only ones appropriate for the office: 2.5″ or under.

Pictured above: Christian Louboutin’s Marie Antoinette shoe, available only in Paris boutiques.

Commenters repeatedly stressed that the heel had to be in proportion to the outfit: the higher the heel, the lower the hemline of the skirt — if not wearing pants with your towering heels. Some noted that they only wore 4″ heels with pants.

Proper hemming is very important here: your pants should almost entirely cover the heel. (We would argue that readers should trek to and from work in the same height of heel that they wear at the office, but for those who don’t agree with us there are gadgets to help you hem your pants temporarily, such as Zakkerz, pictured below.)

Psst: check out our latest thoughts on the best trouser lengths for women!

There was general agreement that platforms are not acceptable office shoes; wedges were also not popular with readers. (We would disagree with that and say it depends on the kind of wedge — the chunkier the wedge, the more inappropriate it is — but a triangular-shaped wedge that blends with the shoe would be all right with us.

Above all, though, readers noted that the shoe itself should be tasteful. As one commented, “never, ever wear clear heels to work. Never.” Another suggested readers not purchase their heels at the Hustler store. (Or perhaps, just save those Hustler shoes for the, uh, weekend.)

(Check out our guide to comfortable heels if you’re looking for more tips!)

Acceptable Wedges for Work

Office Appropriate Wedge Heels

As of Dec. 2023 there are a lot of wedge heels for work lately that look great for commuting or learning to walk in heels… Nordstrom especially has a ton, as does Theory, J.Crew, and Vivaia! Some of our current favorites:

Office Appropriate Wedge Booties

In 2024, wedge booties are hard to find, although platform booties and thick lug soles are very popular. Some sleek options for work might include these affordable wedge boots from Dream Pairs, these comfortable Dr. Scholl’s wedge boots, and these nice Anne Klein wedges.

The post Poll Results: Towering Heels appeared first on Corporette.com.