'No-shoes' policy | American workers cause a stink with barefoot office trend

A trend of workers going barefoot in the office has spread across Silicon Valley startups, sparking a debate as to whether shoeless workplaces could drive creativity or create conflict.

A report in Fortune spotlights Cursor, an AI coding company valued at nearly $10billion, as one of several firms adopting shoeless policies. Other examples include Speak, an AI language startup supported by OpenAI, Whop, a digital goods marketplace founded by Gen-Z entrepreneurs, and publishing platform Substack.

Cursor employee Ben Lang said he has “only worked at startups that have a no-shoes in office policy.” His viral post on X received more than a million views and sparked a flood of mixed reactions.

Culture shift or comfort risk?

Some commenters saw it as aspirational, one calling it a “bucket list” workplace. Others mocked the idea with sneezing emojis or worried about hygiene. Lang clarified that visitors receive shoe covers or slippers to avoid dirt being tracked inside.