How you buy good work shoes is to start with a pair of shoes that are sturdy, and provide the necessary support and comfort for you to be on your feet all day.

While some people favor work shoes that are light and athletic, a lot of people also find athletic shoes don't provide the support or comfort necessary for long shifts in the kitchen or on the factory floor.

Some people invest in quality custom-made work shoes that are built like work boots. Other people buy new shoes at a faster pace.

So how DO you go about finding great work shoes? Let's talk a little bit more about that…

Good Work Shoes Actually Fit You

The fit is really important if you work on your feet all day. Your toes need the room to flex as you walk, and the heel needs to be held snug without chafing. 

Enough room for flexibility, but just snug enough for support. Most work shoes, and indeed most shoes in general, ask you to pick one...if you even get that. A good pair of work shoes will have both.

The problem with most work shoes, and in fact most shoes in general, is that there are hundreds of manufacturers out there. And all of them use different lasts.

Lasts are the mold that shoes or work boots are made around. The shape and size of the mold is expressed in a shoe size...but the problem is the shoe size they give is not always the same size everywhere else!

Have you ever noticed that with some shoe brands, you're a size larger or smaller compared to other brands? That's the difference in lasts in action, and some brands - such as the really popular athletic shoe brands - are really awful about it.

Especially if you have wide feet. Good luck, because it is terribly difficult to find quality work shoes that actually fit properly with wide feet. That's why some people skip trying to find a pair and just have their work shoes made to order.

So, you need to either try on enough pairs to find the perfect fit, or get fitted for a pair of custom work shoes.

Work Shoes, Just Like Work Boots, Have To Be Comfortable Enough To Wear All Day

Work shoes have to do the same job as work boots, you're just buying a slightly less substantial design of footwear.

After all, you probably don't want to wear logger boots if you're indoors all day. Your feet will overheat, the raised heel is going to be a little weird, and that's just a heck of a lot of boot to not be using in an outdoor setting.

So what is it that your work shoes are supposed to do?

Support the arch where it needs to be supported, and give your toes the room they need to flex as they're supposed to, and keep your heel from getting beat up from walking around. Just like a pair of work boots.

You aren't supposed to be desperate to get your shoes off by the end of your shift. Your heels aren't supposed to hurt.

It also doesn't hurt if they look great, too. It's okay for you to have work shoes that look great and feel great.

Great Work Shoes Should Be An Investment, Just Like Great Work Boots

Just like people who want a great pair of work boots, you should approach work shoes the same way. Your comfort and overall quality of life are worth more than a bargain basement pair of shoes that you get from a "mart" store of some kind.

If you're going to be on your feet all day, investing in a good pair of shoes is going to pay dividends in comfort and your overall quality of life at work.

We all have to work in order to live. That's a fact of life. But nobody said we're supposed to kill ourselves to do it. By investing in ourselves, and our own comfort and health, we improve our working life and the rest of our lives with it.

And you are worth investing in. So why not start with something that will make you feel better right away?