We wore shorts to the office. Our boss didn't.
In this Sunday edition of Business Insider Today, we're tackling the age-old debate of whether shorts are appropriate for the office.
A heated debate has emerged in corporate America about the appropriateness of wearing shorts to the office. Instagram's Adam Mosseri recently voiced his support for wearing shorts at work, but cautioned that not all shorts are suitable and not everyone can pull them off. To explore the issue further, BI's staff decided to test how shorts looked in their New York office.
Out of the 10 journalists, the Editor-in-Chief Jamie Heller was against it, stating she works better in business attire. The newsroom's weekday writer, Dan DeFrancesco, also refused to participate, citing societal rules and potential discomfort. A LinkedIn poll conducted garnered over 7,000 votes, with 55% of participants believing shorts were not appropriate for the workplace, while 20% thought they were, and 25% stating it depended on the situation.
The comments on the poll revealed various perspectives on acceptable office attire in 2026, with some suggesting a hierarchy of shorts, while others supported the idea of appropriately tailored shorts being acceptable. The debate also considered the type of workplace, with some suggesting a 90-degree rule for wearing shorts when temperatures exceed 90 degrees.
Despite being an elder millennial, the author tried wearing shorts to work and felt underdressed, a feeling they hadn't experienced since working with frigid office air conditioning.
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