[ojeggplant]

You can wear your shoes in the Gusto office. A good number of us do; in fact I'm doing so right now. I think it's more that you have the option and encouragement to walk around freely without shoes, whereas other offices would probably frown on you for going into a meeting with just socks.

[philsnow]

Some employees wear their SF street shoes in the office, and they still encourage other employees to not wear them?

One of the reasons I never applied at Gusto is that I didn't want to take off my shoes. The floor is a commons, and it only takes one person walking around with shoes on to turn it from a "no shoes floor" to a "shoes floor".

[ojeggplant]

Of the people who take off their shoes, 99% of them wear slippers or indoor shoes of some sort. The rest who wear socks don't seem to care about the floor either way. As a sidenote, shoe policy is a really terrible barometer for whether or not to apply to a company, regardless of how little it may have influenced your decision. I can't imagine you actually took it into consideration.

[philsnow]

> shoe policy is a really terrible barometer for whether or not to apply to a company

Any kind of behavior that gives me the feeling of kool-aid drinking or brainwashing is absolutely a red flag.

The way you describe it (not enforced in any way, not even through peer pressure) is very different from the way I had always read about it (fairly absolutist and you won't be allowed in the building if you don't remove your shoes). If I had heard about it that way, you're right, I would not take it into consideration.

Unfortunately I don't have citations handy for the absolutist version of the policy that I had read about.

[ojeggplant]

I'd say every company does kool-aid drinking or "brainwashing" (kind of a strong way of putting it IMO) of some sort. I think most rational people don't take it too seriously, and engage at a minimal level when necessary. Do you have companies in mind that, in your opinion, don't raise any red flags for you in terms of kool-aid drinking?

And if you're still looking for a new job, feel free to consider us again! We promise you can keep your shoes on :)