A third of hosts who always take off their own shoes never ask their guests to
In many parts of the world, it’s an understood social custom to remove one’s shoes before entering your own home or any other person’s residence. That line is blurred in the US with new YouGov polls revealing that while most Americans (87%) take off their shoes in their own homes, it can be a toss-up whether a host will ask a guest to remove his or her shoes. New research from YouGov Omnibus finds that one in two Americans never ask their visitors to take off their shoes when entering their home (50%).
Sorting the data by age reveals that older millennials (ages 25-34) and those ages 35-44 report highest rates of shoe removal at 90% and 89% respectively. The latter group also leads the country in saying they’ll always remove their shoes at home (40% compared to 31%).
While a majority the country remove their own shoes at home, YouGov asked if they expect their guests to do the same. One in ten (10%) will “always” request their guests remove their shoes though slightly more say they’ll ask less frequently, either “most of the time” (11%), “sometimes” (13%), or “rarely” (13%).
The poll also suggests that requesting guests take off their shoes may be a generational matter. Those 55 and older (64%) are fourteen percentage points more likely than the general public (50%) to say they would never ask their guests do so. While just over a third of those in the 55+ bracket say they’ll ever ask guests to remove their shoes, 54% of middle-aged Americans (ages 35-54) and 64% of millennials said they at least sometimes ask their guests to take off their shoes.
Learn more about YouGov Omnibus and YouGov Profiles
Image: Getty