this is also the convention in most of eastern europe as well, very often people have little shelves around the front entry to place your dirty outdoor shoes and a basket full of slipper type shoes (for the cold)

i personally prefer to walk around inside with at most socks but if i was standing a lot i'd probably get spongey mats for those areas, like in front of workbenches and such, and for safety in an area where i might drop heavy things on my feet i'd want to wear shoes too