Back to Work

I read a list of things a person shouldn’t do if he or she wants to be successful in a job. One was: don’t take a sick day and then return to work with nice nails. Another: keep your shoes on at work, even if they’re uncomfortable. Good advice, I’m sure.

In his essay “Going Barefoot” in his 1983 collection Hugging the Shore, John Updike writes of “the pleasant illusion of unaccountability” of being shoeless in public (for him, Martha’s Vineyard), and he’s right about both the pleasantness and the illusion.

Two or three times during my student days, I carried my sandals in my book bag when heading to the library for research. I felt super-motivated to get a lot finished as I strolled around the stacks, checked the card catalog, located books, tiptoed to the photocopier, heard the soft thump of my feet on the floor, and generally was extremely productive! A friend used to say, “I can’t think unless my feet are comfortable!” Perhaps shoelessness should be listed among the habits of highly effective people….

But few jobs would allow that, other than home employment. (Hurray for freelance writing….) Lifeguards and swimming instructors also come to mind. When we lived in Arizona, I read about a person who worked in a lookout tower in a national forest. Along with the gorgeous view, the person loved the job because it didn’t require footwear. She got dressed for work but never had to figure out which shoes to put on.