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Comment by jonnycomputer | Hacker News Reader

Boss gives a dinner party at their home for their employees. All the guests show up in their best. Boss is in shorts, t-shirt and sandals.

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In my non-U.S. hometown (people in the U.S. are, on average, much more shy in this context, oddly enough), this would have been considered extremely rude and awkward, and the boss would have been made fun of forever.

And not because he was in shorts, T-shirt and sandals, a respectable attire at the beach or pool, but not when other people are striving to present themselves at their best. Putting people down should never be fashionable.

Top shelf power play. This guy Zooms

You missed the part where the maid serves little burgers on buns as lunch.

Honestly prefer sliders. They're cute and you can gauge them easier than their club-sized counterparts.

"They are just like those white castle ones you see people eating in mukbang challenges online"

The real power play would be if the boss's t-shirt is the 3 for $10 variety from Target rather than a $200 bespoke one.

Not gonna lie, I'm nowhere near that "prestigious" and your comment already hits dangerously close to home, lol

Also, how could you ever know that for the purpose of the discussion? I feel like it would have to be pretty damn specifically made for a "generic" t-shirt fitting that specific example with "bespoke" brand indicia or something... Prolly overthinking this

> This guy Zooms

Shirt and tie up top, shorts below the camera line. Rock the same at the bosses dinner.

Boss is a jerk.

Or it's just a miscommunication: The boss was throwing the party with the intention of everyone having a chance to relax and have fun, but everyone else saw it as a career opportunity and "dressed for success".

Then the boss doesn't understand that people aren't not going to treat him like their boss so long as they work for him. Ultimately that guy signs their paychecks, that dynamic is going to be unequal for the entirety of that relationship.

MichaelScott Syndrome

Yeah, there are multiple interpretations possible of such a situation; my describing this kind of situation in the context of a discussion of counter-signalling biases our interpretation. A host dressing the most casually possible means that none of their guests will be under-dressed, for example. Also, the culture and expectations of the work place matter.

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