Are neckties a safety and health hazard?

Bönnigheim, Germany – Wearing an overly tight necktie may cause workers to lose concentration and make errors, suggests a study from the Hohenstein Institute.

Researchers studied men who wore ties and found the men's concentration decreased up to 70 percent in one hour when the tie was knotted at a pressure of 40-60 mmHg. Consequently, their rate of errors for solving computer-aided reaction and coordination tasks increased 85 percent, according to a press release from the institute.

“One can have an enormous store of knowledge, be in a position of authority, have a degree and a doctorate – all that is not much help,” co-author Timo Hammer said in the release. “Men also have to know how and particularly how tightly to knot their ties.”

The study has not yet been published in a journal.

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Bob Grosh
April 10, 2018
In the early 70's there were only two reasons you could get fired from NCR, (National Cash Register Inc). One of them was for wearing, (or even owning), a necktie that did NOT clip on. Your manager could walk up to you at any time, or any place, and yank your tie. If it did not pop off, you would be fired. It seems that NCR was paranoid about having a tie, wore by a service tech, getting caught in the gears of their register and their customers seeing their machine decapitate the technician. During training we were told that a NCR service person had once been decapitated while working on a register. IBM, of the other hand, required their techs to wear bow ties.