Ratchet-tivity in the Workplace?

Imagine this... 

For the past 2 years you have been pulling into to the quiet and well organized parking lot of your workplace. A major Fortune 500 company with resources to keep the grass manicured and the grounds free of debris. People actually look happy to be at work. As you exit your vehicle, that is parked adjacent to other cars that are worth more that large homes, here comes the Mercedes Benz shuttle to take you to your designated building; this saves your feet from becoming too sore from the equivalent of a 3 block walk to your door. As  you walk in the doors and the smell of fresh money wafts into your senses, you are greeted by an oasis of smiling faces and people wanting to bid you Good Morning or ask How are you today? 

Now imagine walking out of your building after your shift and there you are immediately assaulted with an onslaught of du-rags, purple weave, head scarves (not tied to appear anything like a turban), leggings (sometimes with holes-sometimes with bright panties), underwear that is unashamedly making an appearance on saggin' behinds and bass ringing in your ears. Instead of people bidding you good morning the smoking section is full of people calling one another ni**a and b***h.  

SIDENOTE~~Now let me be clear my workplace is VERY diverse. In California the Black Community is not the only race of people that use the word ni**a as a "term of endearment" just FYI. Ratchet-tivity does not just belong to any one race/group/culture/ethnicity... Equality exists in the world of ratchet behavior. ~~ 

 KoKo's Terms- Ratchet-tivity (Ratchet+Activity=Rachet-tivity)

This is what I experienced at my job last week. We got a lot of new temp employees that don't know how to act in public let alone at work. I don't have a mean thing to say about temp employees, we've had temps at my workplace since before I was here, but this is a brand new group with some totally different ideas about workplace attire and behavior. Keep in mind where I work is a very casual workplace. Executives in jeans and sneakers type of casual, but there is still an amount of restraint that must go into anything and everything that you do. I could easily walk into work with sweatpants, flip flops, a head scarf (a trend I hate) and a beater on. (I've seen this exact outfit at least 11 times in 3 days). Although that style is an option that is open to me as well, I make the CHOICE not to dress like I forgot to get dressed. 

I was taught by my mother when I was 19 to dress for the job that I want not the one I have. She told me this because at the time I was working two jobs and in school. I worked as a sandwich maker at Subway, in the Renaissance Center in Detroit during the day and  a hotel security officer on midnight shift.  I was tired and I had started looking like I took a silent ban on haircombs and clothing irons. Like a teenager, I threw a tantrum about being told about myself by my mother. It honestly took me walking into the building that housed General Motors' World Headquarters , looking at myself in the mirror and comparing myself to the people that worked around me, not with me, but around me to realize that I needed to take more pride in my appearance in order for people to take me as seriously as I wanted to be taken. 

I'm not saying people have to walk into work wearing red bottoms looking "snatched to tha gods" like Ms. Olivia Pope on Scandal to do general labor, but at least take a little bit of pride about the way that you appear in the eyes of your peers, and possibly future employers. These things matter. I mean seriously, you must be here because you want to do something better than what you were doing before. ACT LIKE IT. Treat yourself like your brand, carry yourself in a way that says: "my image and talent are marketable and worth investing in." No one can market you better than you. 

As a last thought remember... ...Ratchet-tivity is only .... AND I MEAN ONLY... acceptable in the privacy of your own home, on  a Saturday night, after a long week of productive work, and a even longer night of drinking with the homies/homegirls...  FAR FAR  away from all recording devices, co-workers and children. Fact.

That is All!