Tech Bro Considers Asking Sister To Avoid High Heels At Their Workplace Due To Height-Related Teasing

The heels that caused a height crisis at the tech startup.

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• August 10, 2024

In the tight-knit world of the start-up ecosystem, it’s not unusual to bump into familiar faces—especially if you're the kind of guy who helps his sister score an internship at your company. 

Our narrator (Original Poster), a 25-year-old software engineer, found himself in this exact situation. After some serious family deliberations, he decided to refer his 20-year-old sister for a summer internship. 

Luckily, she got the gig! They occasionally had lunch together, mixing sibling bonding with workplace small talk. It was all good vibes until, one day, the dynamics shifted. 

You see, OP stood proudly at 5 '7"—about half an inch taller than his sister. However, recently, she’d been strutting into the office in heels—and not just any heels. This kind of turned her into a towering presence and made her noticeably taller than her big brother.

When office jokesters caught wind of the situation, it led to some good-natured ribbing; OP didn’t take it well. It wasn’t that he minded his sister looking fabulous, but the height change made him feel a bit awkward—all the teasing didn’t help, either.

So, here he stands (or rather, looks up), wrestling with his thoughts. He was seriously considering asking her to switch to flats.

Should he just ride the wave of jokes and let it go, or go ahead with his request?

Let’s dig into the details

OP’s company had an internship opening and he referred his sister for it.

Due to the size of the company, OP sees his sister often. Recently, his sister started wearing heels to work which made him appear shorter than her.

At the office, OP’s colleagues has noticed the difference in height and made jokes about it which made him uncomfortable.

Check out some interesting comments below:

“Nobody appointed you the Fashion Police. Leave her alone.”

“Don't force your sister to change the way she dresses because of your own insecurities and crappy coworkers.”

“Take the coworker issue to HR but leave your sister’s shoes alone.”

“You don't get to tell other people to change when it is YOU that needs to change.”

Your problem

“How fragile are you that you need to make your sister shorter to feel important? Truly important people don't need to tell or show people how important they are.”

“If you're that worried about your height and keeping up appearances, then you can go buy some heel insert lifted shoes like Tom Cruise and Kendrick Lamar do, and wear those.”

“In the context of a workplace asking her for your personal comfort with no basis in the company or office's policy could be seen as a form of harassment that she could take to HR.”

“You are allowing other peoples actions and words make you think your sister should change her behaviour.”

Redditors chimed in with a resounding chorus: "Let your sister wear what she wants!" They encouraged OP to support his sister's professional journey, heels and all, and not let a few inches come between sibling solidarity. 

In the end, they reminded him that a little banter never hurt anyone. But if things got out of hand, he could always surrender the jesters to HR.

What do you think about this story? Share your thoughts with us.

Jesse