It’s time to rip up the employee dress code
May 13, 2010 by Tim GouldPosted in: Behavior, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Management, policies
It’s high time companies abolished one well-entrenched but outdated practice: the employee dress code.
No, we’re not talking about those companies that set appearance standards for employees who come face-to-face with the public. That flavor of dress code makes sense.
And of course employers need to establish rules when worker safety’s at stake.
But in today’s workplace, about the last thing managers need is to take on the role of fashion police.
More trouble than it’s worth
The nuts-and-bolts argument against dress codes? It’s just one more thing that can get you in legal trouble. Employees can claim too-strict appearance standards discriminate against minorities, either gender or members of religious groups.
Other reasons to jettison these outdated rules:
- Managers have to spend their time disciplining employees for what they’re wearing, deflecting attention from what’s really important — how they’re performing.
- This isn’t the 1950s, when conformity was the byword. The 21st Century workplace is a lot more diverse than ever before. There’s a far wider age range of employees than there’s ever been. And let’s face it — the standards of acceptable appearance in today’s society are a whole lot looser than they were 10 or 15 years ago.
Finally, allowing employees to wear whatever they’re comfortable working in has become a proven morale booster.
We can hear the skeptics’ objections already: What about the employee with multiple piercings who joins a department full of buttoned-down Baby Boomers? What about the women who wear too-provocative outfits to the office?
Our response: We’re all adults here, right? So what matters is performance. If somebody’s appearance is so outrageous that it affects employee performance — either their own or their co-workers’ — managers have a bona fide issue to deal with.
If things come down to a dispute born out of personal taste, it’s time to revert to the old kindergarten standard: Employees are expected to play well with others. No matter what they look like.
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May 17th, 2010 at 11:00 am
We don’t have a dress code!!! YAY!! I am HR Manager and today, I wore jeans, sneakers and a 80′s throwback “Blondie” T-shirt (all tasteful of course) because it’s rainey today. When we have visitors or I have somewhere to go, we gussy up. We are mostly business casual and a lot of us ladies dress nice anyway, because we love to shop and be in the latest looks, we just pick our
day(s) when we dress down. There are some folks who wear jeans every single day but they have no visitors. I say as long as you don’t wear Daisy Dukes and Speedo’s to work, it’s OK. We are all adults and we know when we are crossing the line, there is a distinct difference between what you wear when you go to the night club and what you wear to work. I am glad I no longer have the need for 2 wardrobes, suits, pantyhose (which I really hate) etc. I won’t get so casual as to wear my “off work” wardrobe of halter/tube tops, skirts/shorts above my knees or other open sleeved shirts because that would be crossing the line. So far, the fashion police has not had to pull anyone over, our system just works. A lot of our visitors comment on how casual we are but we still get the job done.
May 17th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Before getting too excited you should read the other article in this same publication “HR Lighter Side: Employer Mandates: Briefs, Boxes etc.” Read the comments that follow that article. Those comments are real life and have more credibility than this article.
May 17th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Hi Stacey,
Also an HR Manager and I dress and do exactly like you….. sometimes casual sometimes more formal BUT what if your Employees come with VERY low cut blouses or for example tank tops? I don’t really mind the few that do but does it look professional? I doubt they get the respect they might deserve and wish they would see it themselves. I never took action but feel maybe I should sometimes.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Also an HR Manager,
We may all be adults, but some adults have terrible judgement. Low cut blouses, short skirts being worn without hose in the workplace is just wrong on so many levels….unless you are working at “hooters”. Based on the industry, a dress code to give examples of what is and is not appropriate in the workplace is necessary. The average person needs guidelines, you can not rely on everyone having “a clue”. Having a relaxed code during the Summer months or a dress down Friday is appropriate, but with guidelines. So what if I don’t have visitors, or candidates coming to see me, my colleagues may, it would not be appropriate for me to walk through my office wearing jeans and a tee shirt simply because I don’t have an appointment that day.
The industry should dictate the “code”.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I agree with Patricia that if adults would be adults this would work. I know our management team doesn’t like being the “dress police”, but when you have staff (who have patient contact) wearing colored undergarments under their light-colored scrubs, thongs and butt cracks showing when they bend over, or excessive clevage showing you have to draw the line. We allow our staff to dress more casually in the summer and even have jean day once or twice a month, but they continually push the envelope. We deal with those individuals one-on one.
P.S. We also have to deal with personal hygiene issues and excessive perfume use!!!!!!
May 17th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
We have a “business casual” dress code, just Labor Day to Memorial Day, yet these “adults” cannot even follow that. How anyone thinks that flip flops, overalls and tank tops that show your bra straps are professional is beyond me. No, we do not have customer visitors all that often and there is usually plenty of notice. If you have hairy, chubby legs and tatooed ankles, perhaps wearing pedal pushers with a pair of open toed sandals (barely even shoes) which most people don’t want to see, is not a great idea. All the adults can do is whine that they want to wear whatever they want. Grow up. Life sucks. Go get another job somewhere else that allows you to wear what you want. There are plenty of people out there willing to take your job and where whatever theri boss tells them to wear.
May 17th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Dress code please…I’m all for casual dress when customers or vendors are not an issue. But come on, what office doesn’t have someone who is clueless as to what is appropriate to wear in public. You see them on the streets and in stores and if you lose the dress code you will see them in your office! Keep your business professional, and avoid sexual harrassment issues by not allowing employees wear whatever they choose.
May 18th, 2010 at 9:14 am
VERONIKA: Luckily, we haven’t had any issues with short skirts or low cut blouses. Most of our ladies are very conscious of showing too much skin. I think we all take subconscoius queues from each other and bottom line is that none of us want to call negative fashion attention to ourselves. That would be a very hard conversation to have. Our male co-workers mostly wear jeans or khakis, Khaki shorts in the summer and a button down or polo shirt. Casual shoes or neat and clean sneakers for the feet NONE of them have ever worn flip flops. We do have 3 who venture to wear Mandals and one of them is the President! They aren’t flip floppy type sandals, they are the closed toed nylon kind with slits or leather ones that are on the nicer end, not too much toes showing.
This is the first job I have ever had where I could wear what I want (within reason). ALL of the past jobs I have had, I could dress no lower than the upper end of Business Casual, Jeans only on Fridays and NO T-shirts of any kind. I even had a job (Apartment Leasing Manager) where our Vice President had a “no Opened Toed Shoe” policy. Unless you had a professional pedicure and subtle colors of toe nail polish, you’d get written up. The policy was put into place because a lot of female employees had crusty feet, chipped toe Nail polish or “Party Colors” which drove her to madness. When I had to dress up, complaining about it wasn’t even be an option and if I had to do it a gain, I would adapt.
May 18th, 2010 at 9:52 am
I think you have to research more, I have read numerous articles on the fact that a dress code of business casual and better actually improves performance as it makes people “feel” they are expected to do better. I think a little more research is needed here.
May 18th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
MARY: You are so correct. I have read that time and again and casual is the order of the day at my company from the president on down. Yes, some adults really need to be told specifically or they will think it’s ok because the are oblivious to their surroundings. I do agree with EVA that it could possibly cause a Sexual Harrassment suit but you have to pull the problem person(s) out right away. Some employees never get told instead, people judge, giggle and gossip about them. Once you have the conversation about dress, you may find that the employee only has micro minis, platform lucite shoes and low cut tops in their wardrobe or their clothes may be too tight because they have gained weight faster than they can replace their wardrobe. In the past, I have had to pull some female employees over to tell them a skirt was too short or tight because a male manager wasn’t comfortable but it was very unprofessional or because I saw it myself and these were young employees that didn’t know better. I have had to have the ULTIMATE conversation twice about body odor (which I never want to do again thank you very much) one turned out to be a mental disorder (Hoarder), the other was Cultural. In fact, the Cultural one thought we were stinky covering up our natural body oder with Deodorant and perfume. And if you have ever had to talk to someone about body odor, pulling someone over for inappropriate dress is literally a piece of cake.
I am grateful that my mom set the tone for me at a young age and I always knew what was appropriate or not. She had a hard time wrapping her head around the way I can come to work at this company but she finally got used to it. Our customers have never complain about our appearance, in fact, they admire us for the casual family like atmosphere (no, we don’t wear flip flops and cut offs). In fact when one starts working here, they actually over dress. Whenever I have to represent the company off site, my wardrobe is always super professional and I am glad I know the difference.
May 18th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Enough already about how “your” company has a casual code, obviously it is in an industry where attire does not matter, in some it does and always will! The bottom line is the industry dictates the dress code. I work in a bank, it may be 2010, where for some “anything goes”, “it is what it is”, and many other sayings, but it is still a “business setting” where men still wear suits and ties, there are board meetings, shareholder meetings. How would it look for the President of a bank to address the shareholders at the annual meeting wearing kaki shorts, a tee shirt and sandals. Not every industry can have this “easy breezy” approach to its image. If your industry or company allows it, so what, I don’t want a Teller handling my account with the midriff showing, low ride jeans, chewing gum. What next paper airplanes flying through the air like it is a company picnic.
May 18th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
I agree it has to be dictated by the industry, or at least the type of environment. In office settings, for example, you can get away with very few guidelines and culture may enforce it easily. In a more industrial setting, you don’t have that option. Manufacturing, for example, in a facility with lots of welding equipment would certainly warrant a stricter explanation of what was acceptable, as compared to an assembly type operation where more casual attire might be ok.
I think the focus should be on getting a minimum of a requirement on it and really striving to focus on people’s performance. However, Supervisors and Managers (as well as HR) do need to have the courage to speak to employees when their attire is unacceptable in the given environment.
May 19th, 2010 at 8:34 am
PATRICIA: Why all the hostility?? I am just pointing out how it works for us without flip flops and cut offs. If that’s you industry, then, fine, not saying anyone who HAS to dress up is wrong for it! Jeez!!
May 19th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Dress codes are still relevant. Some people have no understanding of what is and is not appropriate. Causing distraction by showing too much skin, risking safety by wearing inappropriate footwear, and inviting lawsuits with offensive messages; these things have to be codified for the ignorant among us.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:35 am
So I am not misunderstood. I was waxing poetic about how Casual works for my company without effecting professionalism. Not putting it down in any way. If you have a code, you have to conform, if I had a code, I would have to conform AND I would not complain. Ditching the dress code all togther will NEVER happen in this lifetime, I am smart enough to realize that. Maybe someday, if we get a new fearless leader, it could change since our President is on the brink of young retirement. His brother who does not dress down, and still doesn’t when he does, could change all that once our president leaves.
May 21st, 2010 at 10:46 am
A dress code is ESSENTIAL! Before we had one, we had trashy girls wearing trash outfits every day.
We had guys walking around with their underwear and crack sticking out of their pants. I think they
actually scared the vermin from the lunch area! Now, everyone looks more professional. The larger
ladies don’t have flab sticking out everywhere for all of us to see – NO one wants to see that, no
matter how warm it is outside! The older ladies don’t wear micromini’s anymore – not that they ever
should have anyway! The men all look more like employees rather than the cleaning people. The
people with tattoos still show them, and it still looks trashy! They look more like customers than employees. Some of the heftier girls still wear clothes better worn by younger and skinnier people, but they probably always will. I’m just glad they quit wearing the rubber clogs!
May 21st, 2010 at 11:50 am
Sunny,
I can see you were deeply affected by the earlier laxity in your company’s dress code. For this to have affected you in this way is all the more reason we need a standard set, people can be tramatized by what they experience in the work place (LOL). All jokes aside, there has got to be a standard as your appearance is the first thing that a person notices and judges you by….and then they get to judge your competence or the lack there of.
keep “code” alive!!!
May 21st, 2010 at 3:20 pm
With anything in the work place, there are always Pro’s and Con’s to work place policies/rules. I tend to favor some guidelines for appearance within the work place, especially given what specific work environment it occurs for the employee. Part of the issue is seeeing if an employee can take direction since dressing oneself usually can be pretty straight forward. If one has (or makes) this issue difficult, then what else in the work place that may be more challenging might be an issue in taking direction. I have found those who take direction with a dressing guideline also tend to take direction in other work place situations. The ones who have had (or made) this into an issue have also tended to have more difficulty in other work place situations. I don’t suggest this to be rule of thumb, but, it is something I have found from an HR/Management point of view in my work place.
Sunny,
It sounds like you have had your own issues regarding dress guidelines. You may have not intended your comment about cleaning people to be denigrating, but, it somewhat came off that way to me when I read your entry. I know a lot of cleaning people who consider themselves employees of their job and dress in the manner their work environment demands. It just appeared to be a little “elitist.” Words do mean things to people (as do appearances also).
May 24th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Have any of you ever seen the e-mails of the pics of the wal mart peeps that circulate from time to time? Some of those people must work somewhere, with someone, and I’ll bet there isn’t a dress code within a mile of the place.
Your attire should be appropriate to the type of work you do and the type of position you hold within the company you work for. Simple enough.
May 24th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I am all for having a dress code, but please people make sure it’s for all employees. I was told on a Thursday (which is my friday) that I was too casual. I had on nice white pair of pedal pusher pants, white wedges heels, tank top with a white jacket (with small holes) so you can silhouett kinda a way see the color of my tank top, looking very nice, clean and thought business attire, especially since I was told I could not wear jeans on Thursday, since we only work 4 days, but when we worked on Friday’s we were able to wear jeans. Two days later my boss comes in with almost same outfit, just differnt colors and tennis shoes. Also other co-workers come in every day with pedal pusher pants, open toe sandals, and some times flip flop, so what’s up with this. Like I say, make sure the code is for everybody. I sit in a office all day, this other person goes out and conduct presentations for our agency.
May 26th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Our guard has the best and most consistent dress in our company. We are technically business casual M-Th and really casual on Friday. He wears a white shirt, tie, and dress pants, every day, and is unhappy when the uniform (which he chose) is not ironed to suit him…so he redoes it. This man works 12 hours every day, never misses, and is paid $9.75 per hour. The pride he takes in his appearance is amazing…and he sees people before the receptionist. Dress does matter!
May 26th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Jeanette, at the company I worked for we had a guard similar to this. Our president had a name-plate made for his desk. It said “Director of First Impressions”.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Thanks, Nomi…great idea!
May 28th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Is there somewhere you can find a guide to a dress code? I am confused by the new terminology – business dress, casual, etc. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me that.
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:12 am
Tina, go to http://www.dresscodeguide.com. Hope this helps.
June 26th, 2010 at 7:17 am
A slob is a slob anyway you slice it. You can have a person without any style not breaking a single “dress code” rule and still looking “unprofessional”. Here is a very simple dress code in one sentence…”Don’t Dress Like A Slob”.