Are Corporations Ready to Allow Shorts at Work in Hot Summers? Lessons from Japan’s "Leg Hair Harassment" Controversy on True Legal Risks in Taiwanese Workplace Management

Today, the Central Weather Administration issued high-temperature warnings for eleven counties and cities across Taiwan, reminding the public to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities, manual labor, and exercise, while paying attention to sun protection, hydration, and heat illness prevention.

Extreme climate-driven high temperatures affect more than just Taiwan. The Japan Meteorological Agency has also repeatedly issued record-breaking heatstroke alerts.

To cope with extreme heat, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expanded its "Tokyo Cool Biz" initiative this year, encouraging civil servants and corporate employees to wear shorts, T-shirts, and sneakers to work to reduce heatstroke risks and lower air conditioning energy consumption. Unexpectedly, this policy sparked social controversies over "leg hair harassment" (Sunehara) and gender-based double standards. Some female employees argued that while men could freely expose their legs, women were still expected to wear stockings, remove body hair, and meet specific grooming standards. The real issue was not shorts, but whether workplace appearance standards are fair.

If the Taiwanese government introduces similar policies in response to high temperatures in the future, what businesses truly need to consider is likely not "can we wear shorts," but how to design systems that prevent new labor disputes and legal risks.

First: Dress freedom policies do not mean companies forfeit management rights.

Keywords: Workplace management, work rules, reasonable management measures

Under Taiwan’s labor legal framework, enterprises inherently possess the right to establish reasonable dress code regulations based on corporate image, occupational safety, client reception, and job duties. However, without clear standards, relying solely on individual managers' subjective preferences—such as "you can wear it, but they can't"—easily raises doubts about management consistency and differential treatment.

Therefore, even if the government encourages light summer attire, companies should still establish objective criteria—such as whether clothing meets safety needs, maintains cleanliness, is suitable for receiving clients, or impacts professional image—rather than judging solely on items like shorts, skirts, or footwear types.

Second: The real legal risk is gender equality, not leg hair.

Keywords: Gender equality, differential treatment, workplace culture

The primary focus of discussion in Japan was not whether leg hair looks aesthetically pleasing, but whether men and women face different attire expectations. If men can wear shorts while women are expected to wear stockings, or if men can show their natural appearance while women are expected to remove body hair, wear makeup, or maintain a specific image, it will trigger debates regarding workplace culture and gender equality.

Taiwanese companies should similarly review whether their current dress codes still enforce gender-based distinctions that lack reasonable, job-related justifications. As awareness of equality grows, employees will increasingly scrutinize corporate management through the lens of institutional fairness rather than traditional workplace culture.

Third: As the era of extreme climate change and intense heat arrives, companies must establish a three-in-one management framework of "Health, Safety, and Equality."

Keywords: High-temperature management, occupational safety, ESG, corporate governance, workplace bullying

Climate change has made summer heat a new operational challenge for businesses. From an occupational safety and health management perspective, in addition to providing drinking water, cooling equipment, and heat hazard prevention measures, companies can appropriately relax summer dress codes to reduce heat illness risks.

However, any policy lacking consistent standards—especially if it devolves into colleagues criticizing each other’s appearance, body shape, or body hair—can create new workplace conflicts or lead to complaints of sexual harassment, workplace bullying, or appearance/gender discrimination. Thus, enterprises should simultaneously establish dress code guidelines, management training, and a culture of mutual respect among employees to balance health, safety, and equality, preventing a well-intentioned policy from escalating into a new management crisis.

Attorney Chen Yexin’s Advice:

Tokyo’s "shorts at work" policy reminds us that the greatest future challenge in corporate governance is rarely the policy itself, but whether the system balances labor compliance, fairness, and humanity. As high temperatures become the new normal, what enterprises need to update is not just their employees' wardrobes, but their management mindset.

C-suite executives, HR leaders, and managers at all levels should take this opportunity to review company dress codes, gender equality policies, and workplace management systems. Ultimately, what determines a company’s competitiveness is never whether employees wear long pants or shorts, but whether the organization has established a governance mechanism that balances health, safety, equality, and dignity.

If the government announces tomorrow that wearing shorts to work is permitted, are your company's policies truly ready?