Comfortable work shoes should have good foot support and not cause discomfort. Lower heels with some flex and added cushioning are ideal. Athletic shoes or cross trainers are suitable for casual dress environments. Look for shoes that fit well and have rounded toes, rubberized heels, and padding. Brands like Naturalizer, Walking Cradles, and Dansko specialize in comfortable work shoes. However, studies show that even the most comfortable shoes may not be good for our feet. Some new shoe brands aim to mimic walking barefoot but may not be appropriate for business attire.
Comfy work shoes come in many forms, none of which have high heels. This can be a problem for those who are really into high heels. If you’re on your feet all day, these shoes won’t be very comfortable. They have the added problem of potentially causing lifelong foot and back problems, and even ones that are just designed to be more comfortable are still not a good choice for your feet.
What you should look for when choosing comfortable work shoes are those shoes with good foot support and that won’t make you suffer by the end of the day. Typically this means choosing a lower heeled shoe that has some flex, but not necessarily a super flat shoe like a ballerina. Some shoes like this are built to look dressier and may look like the average flat men’s dress or flat for a woman, but have added cushioning and padding that will help stop those dogs from barking.
If you work in an environment that allows for casual dress, you may want to choose athletic shoes or cross trainers. These are designed to withstand increased wear and tear and often feature breathable material that keeps your feet from feeling too hot. Whether you need to wear a loafer, oxford, or some kind of semi-dressy women’s shoe, you can still find comfortable work shoes that fit the bill. Generally, if you’re looking for breathability, choose leather or fabric shoes instead of vinyl.
There are a number of brands that specialize in making comfortable work shoes. Some brands for women you may want to look into include: Naturalizer, Walking Cradles, Sofft, Soft Spots, Hush Puppies, Dansko, Merrel, Clarks and Easy Spirit. For men, you might want to look at shoes from Dansko, Merrel, Birkenstock and Clarks. There are many other brands that you might find perfect too.
What you’ll want to look for in comfortable work shoes are shoes that fit you well. If a shoe is too tight or too loose, your feet pay a price. Shoes should also be the right width. Take the time to go to a high quality shoe store, get measured and put on a good shoe, and spend some time walking around the shoe store in every pair you try on to make sure they don’t give you any cause for concern.
In general you may also want to look for some style features for comfortable work shoes. Stay away from narrow or pointy toes and look for shoes with rounded toes. Avoid slip-on shoes without a back, as they will be harder to walk on unless they are clog styles or shoes like Birkenstocks. Look for rubberized heels and padding and support on the inside as well.
Even the most comfortable work shoes may not represent truly good shoes for your feet. There has been increased interest in how shoes affect our feet, and while we often wear them to protect them, it turns out that “good shoes” may not be so good for us. Studies of people who don’t wear shoes show that they have significantly better feet than those of us who do. However, unless you work in a very select environment, you probably won’t be able to get away with working in bare feet.
There are some new shoe brands trying to more realistically approximate how the foot would walk without a shoe. These can actually take some getting used to. They are also generally not very elegant and may not be appropriate for business attire.
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