Working from home - does it matter what you wear?

What to wear to work is for many the first challenge of the day. For homeworkers it’s less of a priority as the only person likely to witness a sartorial disaster is the postman or an elderly neighbour. But should we apply a bit more thought to our working from home wardrobes?

A telephone interview for an article I recently penned on dress down Friday made me question whether my work from home attire needed sprucing up. It was when this pro-office casual interviewee said to me something along the lines of, “I’m probably wearing something not that much different to you,” assuming I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, that I had to stifle a giggle. I imagine as a senior level business professional, he wasn't wearing floral Primark pyjamas.

Giggling suppressed, I started to feel anxiety rising, as I feared I may actually be asked to reveal what I was wearing that Friday morning. Using every ounce of my interviewing prowess, I guided the interview off this potentially shameful track. I didn’t have to confess or lie on this occasion, but it did make me think about what I wear to work.

  

Does not having bothered to get out of my pyjamas to do a telephone interview show a lack of respect for the interviewee? Is slouching at my desk in joggers and a favourite hoodie a sign of a sloppy attitude? I hope not.

But just in case, I will be making more effort with my working from home attire. And this is only partly an excuse for another shopping spree.

Plagiarism and other forms of workplace theft

Copyright theft, plagiarism – whatever you call it, I was recently a victim of a light-fingered online fraudster. Yes, a US scoundrel of a website was stealing the fine words from this very blog and publishing them as their own. This dishonourable operation neither asked my permission nor had the decency to attribute the pilfered posts to the AfternoonDebate blog or me personally.

Tackling copyright theft

I’m not the only writer this happens to. There are two common responses from victims:

1. A resigned shrug of the shoulders and brushing it off as a peril of the digital age.
2. Those who put up a fight.

As a freelance journalist and copywriter, I make a living from the words I write, so someone stealing them makes me angry. Yes, I’m a number 2. Stealing copy is not only dishonest, it's also a legally dubious pursuit that you can get in a lot trouble for. 

So what did I do? I confronted the website owners and also made a legal complaint via Google about the site (it was a Blogger powered website). At the same time a fellow victim (the wonderful Evil HRLady) also threatened website takedown action via the DMCA (Digital MilleniumCopyright Act). The result: the website has been taken down and no longer has any content. Victory.

Is someone stealing your praise?

Plagiarism isn’t the only form of theft that can happen in the workplace (and we're not just referring to your stapler that's gone missing again). Every day unscrupulous managers and leaders take credit for their subordinates work - they steal your hard-earned praise. How do you feel when your boss beams with pride as someone slaps him or her firmly on the back for the work you’ve done? 

Do you shrug your shoulders or put up a fight?

Special thanks to Evil HR Lady for spotting the thieving website and getting them taken down.