I Can’t Stand Another Summer With My Draconian Office Dress Code. This Year, I’ve Found a Loophole.

Good Job

The desk fan just won’t cut it anymore.

June 18, 2026 6:00 AM

Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Deagreez/Getty Images Plus and lamyai/iStock/Getty Images Plus.

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.

Good Job   is Slate’s advice column on work. Have a workplace problem big or small?  Send it to Laura Helmuth and Doree Shafrir here . (It’s anonymous!)

Dear Good Job,

I’m a 38-year-old man working in the accounting department of a small non-profit. I’ve been here just over three years, in a building with no air conditioning that holds heat badly. Every summer, I’ve sat at my desk in a suit and tie, sweating through my clothes. There was no work-from-home option. I complained, but I endured.

This past fall, our executive director, who was 78, retired after 30 years. Her replacement, “Kris,” is only two years older than me and has come in with a lot of modernizing energy.

One of his first moves was getting the board to update our dress code, which had been restrictive, to put it kindly: suits, ties, slacks only, and no polos or jeans. The new code is better, but shorts are still prohibited. We just had our first real heat wave of the summer, and even in jeans and a polo, I was sweating badly enough that I started bringing a spare shirt to change into.

Here’s the wrinkle. The new dress code, following state and possibly federal law, is gender-neutral. One of the permitted items is “flowy skirts” of appropriate length, and a lot of the women in the office have been wearing them in the heat. I asked to wear shorts. I was told no, on the grounds that if they allowed it for me, they’d have to allow it for everyone. I work in a back office, use a back entrance, and never interact with clients.

So I’m considering wearing a long, flowy skirt over my shorts each day and removing it in the bathroom before I leave. My male co-workers think I’m rocking the boat. My female co-workers think it’ll get skirts pulled from the dress code entirely. But the desk fans aren’t cutting it, and I’m not doing another summer soaked in sweat. What should I do?

—Too Sweaty

Dear Too Sweaty,

I love this idea. It’s creative, practical, and subverts gender norms while also calling attention to dangerous workplace conditions. If you do start wearing skirts, don’t make a joke of it, although people will joke. If people ask, just say matter-of-factly that you want to cope with the heat while conforming to office policies. You’re not performing in drag, just doing your job. You might start with a sarong, kilt, or other style that is standard masculine attire in other parts of the world. (Your female co-workers don’t need to worry; your organization’s legal team would advise strongly against prohibiting skirts in the workplace.)

The bigger problem, though, is the dangerous workplace conditions. Bring in a thermometer and track the office temperature every workday. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that workplaces maintain a temperature between 68 and 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Extreme heat is a known health risk that also interferes with cognitive processing and harms productivity . Workplace heat can be deadly , even for indoor workers, especially above 85 or 90 degrees. Air conditioning is a public health issue.

Your new boss, Kris, needs to address this problem because it’s not getting better. New heat records are set every year because of the climate crisis. The hottest summers we experience now are likely to become the coolest summers of our lifetimes . Kris needs to find a new office building, allow work from home on hot days, or provide air conditioning. Either before or after you start wearing skirts, chart your temperature readings, formatted to show how often they rise above recommended workplace conditions (use bright red ink for those days). Tell him you’re concerned about your colleagues’ health, and point out that elderly people and those with existing conditions are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat . Tell Kris your non-profit won’t be able to fulfill its mission properly when workers are dangerously overheated.

—Laura

More Advice From Slate

I have a co-worker, Deanna, who I’ve long suspected doesn’t approve of my approach to my work. She’s never said anything directly to me or complained about my role in any of our collaborations. She’s a type-A, over-achiever, which isn’t my style. Deanna is my peer, not my manager, and my manager always gives me positive performance reviews, so I haven’t let Deanna’s perceived disapproval get to me. But a person who reports to me just told me that Deanna has told her and others that she flat-out doesn’t like me.

Never miss new Slate Advice columns

Get the latest from Prudie and our columnists in your inbox each weekday, plus special bonus letters on Saturdays.

Advice

Workplace

Jobs