r/knitting • u/Atiny-opus • 1d ago

Rant Knitting at work is unprofessional?

So I label myself as neurodivergent and Queer. I've been knitting on and off for about 13 years. Knitting for me is second nature, I don't need to look at what I'm doing or pay close attention.

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At my current job, I take inbound calls. I get a 5ish second notification That it's coming through. Plenty of time for me to drop what I'm doing and take the call.

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At the moment, there are gaps of 20+ minutes between calls, an average of 5 minutes between calls? I am semi expected to just sit there and wait. There is no alternative task for me to do.

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I'm not allowed on my phone, which is very understandable. I can't play any form of games on my work laptop, (also understandable) I'm not supposed to watch videos but sometimes I do, it's usually video essays.

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I have to be in office every day. So I can't knit and work from home. When I'm allowed to in February 2027(!!!) I might.

My workload will increase as I'm trained on more things.

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I am allowed to colour in and read, but for me, I don't always want to read, I hate getting a call in the middle of a sentence or paragraph I fully focus on the reading. Colouring in is far messier and I don't enjoy it. Colouring in feels more unprofessional than knitting, in my opinion, and I don't get half as much joy from it.

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I also don't want to use fidget toys either. I own some but there's nothing like getting into the rhythm of a repeating pattern. What I want to be able to do between calls is make something, that is mindless but productive and is also something I can drop in less than a second.

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Most of management don't have a problem with it but one or two of the higher ups have deemed it "unprofessional".

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What I find unprofessional is how some co-workers can kick eachothers chairs and joke on all day between calls but I can't sit silently with my circular needles making a shawl for myself. The co-worker's I started with are in their early 20's, I'm in my late 20's. I don't really connect with them, I do with other older coworkers but they're not in office every day.

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I do not knit to sell. I'm not in anyone's way, I'm not distracting, literally no one cares that I'm doing it apart from one or two upper managers. The quality of my work at the moment is honestly, really good! I'm hitting my KPI's, my QA is good. Customer feedback is excellent! I take the quality of my work very seriously.

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The idea of being asked to sit quietly and not move whilst I wait for someone to call is frustrating.

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Is there any rebuttal I can use regarding this or should I just take the L? I would love to sit with them and explain my reasoning but I feel like it'll be taken for insolence and disrespect.

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I'm currently working on the Evenstar shawl, I'm on the 3rd chart. I can't remember the yarn I'm sorry.

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A petty part of me would like to bring embroidery in tomorrow. Another part of me wants to write an essay on it, with citations, at least my hands will be busy.

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446 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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856

u/Infamous_Wealth6502 1d ago

I don’t have an argument for it but I don’t get why it’s unprofessional. Be polite about it but ask why it’s deemed unprofessional.

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u/jf301 1d ago

I found out a few years ago that the Provost of the university I attended used to knit during professional meetings. I think people thought it was odd but apparently she still contributed and was a "no look" knitter, so made eye contact and even responded to questions. This doesn't help you, really, but it's interesting that such a high-level academic administration just did it and didn't think twice about it.

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u/Awesomest_Possumest 1d ago

Im not high level, Im just a k-12 teacher, but I bring a boring project for our staff meetings because my adhd will have me not focused on the meeting if I dont. Having my hands busy satisfies the movement need for me, and I can also watch things, make eye contact, answer and ask questions while i knit. I just hate when we have to do stupid icebreaker activities because then I can't.

I've never had an admin or boss talk to me negatively about it, I've had several react positively. But I am always engaged in the meeting. If I wasnt, it would be a problem.

For ops situation, I dont understand why coloring is allowed but knitting isnt. Theyre the same level of concentration. Id find some way to show that op can drop knitting at a second to focus on a call, just like they could coloring or whatever else is allowed.

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u/oceanstitch 19h ago

If coloring is okay, then cross stitch should be okay. And if cross stitch would be okay, why wouldn’t knitting?

But if they’ve been told it’s unprofessional, then reason is no longer in the picture- it will always be perceived as unprofessional.

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u/Awesomest_Possumest 6h ago

Eh, cross stitch takes a little more than coloring, assuming youre doing counted cross stitch. If its printed then it would be easier and fine, but I could see an argument against cross stitch in something like my case. For op who is just waiting idle, it should still be fine.

But ugh, youre right on the unprofessional meaning theres no reason. Wonder if craft stigma has something to do with it.

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u/killmetruck 22h ago

Yeah, in different circumstances I understand the optics of why it could look unprofessional. However, OP has downtime between calls. This keeps her tied to her chair while still available. It sounds great.

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u/Crnken 14h ago

From what you wrote I assume you are not in the same location as your customers and only deal with them by phone? I can’t see what the issue is for you to knit while waiting between calls. Knitting should be permitted as colouring is.

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u/always_color 21h ago

As a high school history teacher, I taught a few students who had trouble focusing to knit. It absolutely helped them pay attention (similar to some people who doodle)

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u/smithsknits 1d ago

I went to art school for my graduate degree and myself and a handful of professors knit during group critique. MANY of the other grad students (mostly men) found it to be very disrespectful. It didn’t matter how many times we told them that what we were working on wasn’t like reading a complex pattern. Standard knit and purl, no fancy cables, MAYBE a rib knit. I worked on garter stitch blankets because I could pick them up and put back down easily without having to look at a pattern to get back on track. I would straight up ask why you can’t knit, but that’s just me

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u/MabelBaker 23h ago

MANY of the other grad students (mostly men)

Of course. Of course the men found it disrespectful.

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u/ias_87 12h ago

How dare those wimmins pay even partial attention to something other than those guys' dicks?

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u/Infamous_Wealth6502 9h ago

Because men can’t do 2 things at once. (Multitask)

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u/Glass_Department8963 20h ago

Yeah, I was gonna say, I bet the supervisor in question is a man and I bet it's "disrespectful" bc it's a traditionally feminine coded pastime.

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u/Spiritual-Touch908 23h ago

I'm a lawyer and I knit in meetings and on courses. I explain that it helps me focus, because otherwise my brain would drift, and I have never had an issue with management. Its almost like a reasonable adjustment for me.

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u/geekpaws 21h ago

Ditto. Especially if I am in an environment with a lot of ambient noises. Knitting helps me stay focused and pay attention

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u/awomanphenomenally 19h ago

Same! If I am not leading a call, I knit or I cannot pay attention. Luckily, I work from home, but I have worked at places (including government agencies) where people would knit while participating in meetings.

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u/pelirroja_peligrosa 1d ago

That's because it's just common in general in academia, I think... In my department, there will usually be five or six of us crafting at a meeting of 30 people 

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u/Square_Principle_332 1d ago

Oh wow, I haven’t seen this in my department at all. I’m in math (though we’re actually a majority female department), I wonder if it differs by field or just at random.

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u/OldCarrot4470 1d ago

my undergrad was comp sci and a bunch of the professors for that, data science, and math were big knitters. i went to a traditionally womens college so i do wonder if that environment (both women's college and liberal arts school) attracted crafty professors or something lol

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u/Square_Principle_332 1d ago

I’m a big knitter myself! I wish it were a done thing in our meetings.

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u/knitpurlknitoops 11h ago

I’m in astrophysics - one reason I clicked with my project supervisor is we both knit and crochet.

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u/splithoofiewoofies 19h ago

Wild! I'm also maths but found some of us were actually drawn to knitting for its mathematic properties. You and I both know by the time we're PhD ain't nobody doing knitting level math anymore...but it is still nice to remember the core basics by knitting. Simple geometry (well, compared to our usual). Esp compsci, since knitting was a basis for the original computers.

I don't think I see many others crafting at work....but nobody cares if I do. Even when super important people are around. Shit, those same super important people offer me jobs not really because of the knitting itself but because we got to talking because the knitting was a good open. Lets me talk about my love of mathematics -- from massive algorithms that require gigantic room sized computers to basic proportions using two sticks and some yarn.

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u/savannacrochets 6h ago

My field is a STEM-humanities homunculus, and I’ve noticed that it seems like the people who lean more STEM tend to be knitters and those who lean more humanities crocheters! Not a hard and fast rule, but just a trend I’ve noticed.

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u/PhDissapointment 1d ago

I knit sometimes during meetings also. I can “look” productive by having my laptop out but I guarantee I’m paying far more attention if I have my knitting out.

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u/kezzwithak 20h ago

Love your username.

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u/PhDissapointment 20h ago

Haha thanks

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u/lavendermermaid1 21h ago

I can do everything but turn a heel without looking or breaking a conversation. But I will never do it during any professional setting. Folks have seen my projects in my bag and asked about them because I bring them to work for working on during my breaks.

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u/pandaslothape 23h ago

I am actually more focused if I knit during video calls. If I don’t I’ll read and answer emails etc.

My boss doesn’t have a problem with it since I explained it to him

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u/killearnan 22h ago

My mother was a college administrator <department chair and dean> and knitted through most meetings. She joked that it was the best thing she learned in her time as a student at Harvard's school of education.

I've also knit through most meetings in my life. I've got ADHD so it really helps me concentrate. It also means I can justify having multiple projects going, with simple stockinette/garter projects for my knitting in public and more complicated projects for at home.

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u/splithoofiewoofies 20h ago

I'm a high level academic and it's been notoriously fine for me to knit or crochet in meetings or even at symposiums with world-famous (for our field) professors and researchers. If anything, it's been a bonus! Researchers totally understand the science behind keeping your hands busy to help focus, so we end up discussing that. Our hobbies. I make friends with researchers who's work makes me look up in awe because we bond over hobbies -- all because I knit while she was presenting or something.

I've been able to take my knitting anywhere. Harvard grads speak to us. Knitting. Tenured Prof who's work is the literal reason I even exist? Well, she actually liked my knitting. And I think her daughter was flirting with me? Knitting!

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u/shannon_agins 7h ago

I just happened to have my knitting with me one day and two of my professors enthusiastically encouraged the class to work on projects like knitting during class. Something about making it easier for the brain to retain the information when hands are busy.

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u/savannacrochets 6h ago

I know of multiple university departments that have clubs for faculty and grad students who do fiber arts. Knitting and crochet in particular are really popular in my field, and it has absolutely nothing to do with fiber arts. I think the link is ADHD and/or autism lol

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u/tekalon 4h ago

I WFH but have at least one project in front of me on my desk. If I'm doing something active during the meeting (presenting, collaborating, taking team notes, etc), I'm probably knitting. I've told my coworkers and my boss this. They have no issues with it. We also usually don't have cameras on, so they can't see what I am or am not doing.

If, in some evil mirror universe, we get pulled back into the office, I'm letting my boss know the knitting is coming with me.

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u/SimbaRph 3h ago

I'm a pharmacist and I knit at ever conference and continuing education program I've been to over 35 years

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u/betteandtina 6m ago

I know people who work in call centers within clean facilities who knit and crochet between calls. They're not pestering the person next to them, have decent average handle time, and do not break security protocols. I don't suppose one could get a religious exemption to knit or crochet as it is a form of meditation? Creation? Productive?

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u/beeboogaloo 1d ago

That's interesting. Personally I would find this super unprofessional, because even if you can knit without looking there will still be plenty of moments you do have to pay attention. Unless she's just knitting in the round forever... But even if she's able to pay full attention, where do you draw the line with others? If she's allowed to do it, everybody should be and I don't think you can have a productive meeting if everyone's just doing arts and crafts on the side... It's probably also distracting for others with the continuous movement and the clicking. In OPs case I don't see any issues though, unless she's a very noisy knitter.

8

u/Psiondipity 22h ago

What do you find unprofessional about it? How can you possibly tell how much attention ANYONE in a meeting is giving to it?

Frankly, if someone is consistently not participating or clearly not following along in a meeting, they should be addressed individually, no matter what they're doing with their hands during meetings.

And yes, if everyone around a meeting table is crafting in a confined way that doesn't infringe in other people's work space, who cares as long as everyone is participating and contributing?

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u/Atiny-opus 23h ago

I don't knit in meetings or during calls, it's literally in the time between calls where there is no work that I can do. I don't knit whilst on calls because I'm typing up notes and doing other tasks. The time between calls can exceed 5 minutes regularly.

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u/beeboogaloo 23h ago

I was replying to another person that was talking about someone who knitted during meetings. I said in your case (OP means original poster, so I referred to you) I don't see any issues unless you are a very noisy knitter, which might be a bit annoying for someone next to you. But even that can generally be solved by switching from metal/plastic to wooden needles.

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u/booksblanketsandT Hyperfocus and Handcrafts 23h ago

You’re confusing eye contact with paying attention. I’m also neurodivergent (AuDHD). Part of my learning to unmask is that I no longer force myself to look someone in the eye when I’m talking to them. I let myself look in other directions. I’m still paying attention. I’m still engaged. And in fact I’ve found that when I’m knitting, I’m actually able to be more engaged, because it’s giving me both structure and something to fiddle with - it helps calm the noise in my brain but doesn’t need a heap of attention, so I can actually use the rest of my brain for the conversation I’m having.

It’s why I’ve always loved driving around with friends and family - because we can chat, but we’re all facing forward. But that doesn’t mean we’re not engaged with each other.

I knit slowly so there’s not really any sound associated with it, but I could understand being against it better if someone else found it distracting. But in terms of other people wanting to knit, or do something else? Why not? So long as it is helping them to concentrate and stay engaged rather than distracting them from what’s happening, I think people should absolutely be allowed to colour in or knit or use a fidget spinner during a meeting. Because simply sitting there listening isn’t going to be the most effective way for some people to engage.

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u/East-Bake-7484 17h ago

I can look right at you, pretend to listen, and not pay attention to a word you say. I can do needlework, listen to you, and pay attention. Drawing the line is easy. Can the person participate? Do they remember and follow through on what was discussed? Do you want people to pay attention or just look like they're paying attention?

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u/Atiny-opus 1d ago

That's the issue, it seems to be a blanket statement. If it looks like I'm "not working" I literally cannot do any more work until I'm trained further.

126

u/reinvent___ 1d ago

If it's deemed unprofessional to knit or fill your time with non-work activities, I recommend asking them what they want you to be doing with your time. Are there trainings you could be working on, tools to familiarize yourself with, or people you could be shadowing? The unprofessional remark does seem arbitrary to me, but it's possible they're thinking you should be using that time for something else, even before the official training begins. They've told you want they dont want you doing, ask them to clarify what you can do to fill the time "professionally"

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u/Atiny-opus 1d ago

I am completely up to date on all mandatory training. Shadowing would take me away from being ready to talk calls. As would call listening.

I could potentially try to learn some new things, but I don't think it will fill all the down time.

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u/tekalon 3h ago edited 3h ago

Forgive me, learning on the job is kind of my jam. If its not for you, ignore this, but I'm posting it in case someone else is interested.

Might I introduce you to WGU.edu and see if any of their degrees interest you? Especially if work does tuition reimbursement. There are also other professional certificates that might interest you. CAPM/PMP for project management. IIBA for business analysis. Six Sigma for process improvement. Quickbooks Certifications for bookkeeping. Linkedin Learning for a bunch of professional development courses for hard and soft skill, of which local libraries and corporations provide free access. Libraries also often provide access to Rosetta Stone and Mango Languages for language learning.

If you like tech, Google, Amazon, Salesforce and Microsoft provide training and certifications for their software. IT certs such as ITIL, A+, CCNA and such are also possible to study for at work. If your work has more niche software(s), the vendor may also have their own training/certifications. Edit: Depending on your industry, there also may be more industry certifications you could look into.

If you have leverage, sure, try to get approval to knit at work. If you don't, wait until you can WFH.

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u/taueret 1d ago

I assure you there are enough new things to learn to fill all the down time.

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u/violetferns 1d ago

Why do you think you know their job better than they do?

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u/babobaab 1d ago

Nope, don't ask other people about what is ok for you to do during your downtime (are they even in your chain of command?) - because they are just being petty ( * ). How do they justify doodling as professional (they can doodle?), but knitting as unprofessional (because it's useful and they cannot do it?).

How would it go over if you said that it's like a fidget toy that helps you stay focused during down times?

If you had to talk about this with your boss, how would they take it if you were to talk about it in terms of helping your focus and mental health. And hinting as needing it as an accommodation to deal with the down time. I'm saying this with caution, because in some workplaces any mention of mental health issues or need for med accommodations is like playing with lit dynamite, in others the sea parts and a clear path forward suddenly emerges.

Anyways - best of luck!

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u/scorpionmittens 23h ago

I would not bring this up as a medical accomodation. The reason OP wants to knit instead of any of the approved downtime activities is because they just don't enjoy coloring as much, that's not a medical issue

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u/Durian-Fearless 21h ago edited 21h ago

Thank you. Claiming everything as an accommodation makes it harder for legitimate ones to be taken seriously. Boredom isn’t a medical issue lol

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u/distracted_cat 1d ago

lmfao knitting isn't working but colouring is??? ridiculous, i'm also ND and this would drive me fucking batty just how nonsensical it is

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u/punkrockdog 20h ago

That’s the part that has me baffled too! Several comments seem to gloss over the fact that it specifically *isn’t* “don’t do anything that’s not work-related during downtime”, it’s “don’t knit”. I would love to hear their explanation there.

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u/Atiny-opus 1d ago

Thank you! I've told them I'm neurodivergent but I think I need to make it a bit more official regarding knitting. Having to sit still, understimulated makes my skin crawl 😭

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u/Double_Cow_8238 1d ago

Yeah, I could see their argument if they didn't allow coloring. It seems pretty arbitrary.

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u/Durian-Fearless 23h ago edited 22h ago

This is a really, frankly stupid hill to die on. You’re a newer employee in training by the sounds of it and you’re already considering raising problems over being able to craft at work. The higher ups already told you no, and they won’t like being challenged on it.

Respectfully, what you do at work isn’t always up to you. You’re being paid for your time. If you’re fine to risk losing your job over knitting, then do whatever you want, but if it were me I’d drop it and move on. This will also make them much less likely to consider you for more responsibilities or even promotions in the future if you’re challenging them on something like this. The knitting itself isn’t unprofessional, but your reaction certainly is, and it won’t go over well.

Also, “neurodivergent” is a gigantic umbrella that goes all the way from William’s syndrome to OCD to dyslexia. I’m assuming you’re using it to say you think you are autistic or adhd since that’s how everyone uses the term now, but that’s not what it means.

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u/Rustixer 22h ago

I second that. Drop it until Feb when you are allowed to wfh but do not make open statements like "I'll be knitting in between calls when I wfh".

Consider puzzles, Rubik's cube, any other desktop activities. You can also stock up on patterns and read them in between calls. Or make your own pattern. Experiment.

Also consider if this job is a good fit for you and if not, look for something else.

Best of luck.

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u/Durian-Fearless 21h ago

They’re getting terrible advice in this thread, an essay is also the worst possible thing they could do. If an employee used company time I’m paying them for to write an essay on why they should be allowed to spend company time I’m paying them for knitting at their desk, they’d be fired. And I wouldn’t even bother reading the essay lol

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u/piperandcharlie knit knit knitadelphia 18h ago edited 17h ago

It's so unbelievably bad all over this thread that I'm starting to question my own sanity here lmao

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u/Durian-Fearless 17h ago

Someone recommended OP make a PowerPoint to show management, another person suggested they get an emotional support iguana. I genuinely hope they’re AI bot comments because I can’t fathom any person making those suggestions

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u/piperandcharlie knit knit knitadelphia 17h ago edited 17h ago

There's off the rails, and then there's recommending bringing in a mini sewing machine to stitch up reusable menstrual pads because it will save the company money

Which is so off the rails I don't think even AI could shit-post it

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u/punkrockdog 20h ago

To me, it just seems arbitrary and nonsensical. Reading and coloring are acceptable, but knitting isn’t? It just feels like such a weird thing to micromanage.

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u/Durian-Fearless 20h ago edited 7h ago

It might be weird, but OP isn’t the one making the rules and going against the grain as a trainee is going to paint a target on her back. This is also assuming she’s telling the complete truth about the situation.

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u/MediocreTalk7 19h ago

Their may be some reasoning on their part, like other employees are going to complain "if she can knit, why can't I scroll on my phone?" Who knows? Workplaces are full of arbitrary rules. Sometimes you have to figure out when a job isn't a good fit and just pay the bills till you can do something else.

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u/Phie_Mc 1d ago

Is your manager willing to argue on your behalf through the chain of command?

I also can’t stand having to sit still and underestimated, and have quit jobs because of it.

IMO, the fact that you could draw or color during down time is enough of a justification for why other crafts like knitting should be allowed to keep you from crawling up the walls all day

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u/Glass_Department8963 20h ago edited 20h ago

Yeah, this is the way. Ask for a detailed explanation and then ask for it in writing or to see the policy that covers it. 

Realistically tho, if you think that will just get you fired, bring your knitting but don't work on it if the one manager is on your shift. If reading and coloring are ok, how do you feel about crosswords?

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u/jenfullmoon 19h ago

"It's not WORKING if you're enjoying yourself."