Dress for success?
You receive the phone call inviting you to an interview next week. The company is really impressed with your CV and they think you’ve real potential and will make a great addition to the team. You agree and your thoughts turn to how you will make the best impression in the interview. You will probably wear a suit. You attend the interview, impress the panel, and get the job. But then comes the thorny issue of what you are going to wear on a daily basis.
The issue of work dress codes has been under the microscope recently, with religious symbols and attire having been the subject of two high-profile lawsuits in the UK, including a woman who had to fight for the right to wear a cross on a necklace at BA, and a female classroom assistant who lost the right to wear a full burkha and yashmak to work. Both these cases attracted a lot of attention and have opened up the debate about freedom of choice and expression in the workplace.
The issue of what to wear at work is an interesting one. Why is it that some professions demand employees should dress in a certain way? Why are uniforms appropriate for some professions and not others? Does the attitude of those in charge matter? Does being told to dress in a certain way curtail your freedom of expression? I recently read an interesting entry on a blog where an individual complained that the clothing attitudes of staff in his organisation had changed when a new, casually dressed managing director replaced the old, more formally attired boss. The writer complained that he preferred his suits, and wanted to carry on wearing them, not least because they were expensive. He made a serious point about how he felt the smart expensive suit made him perform better than if he had been wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Many large corporates insist on a certain dress code. Deloitte and KPMG, among others, advise their staff to wear formal business dress in their own office and when visiting clients, unless the client tells them otherwise. They firmly believe the appearance of their staff reflects their brand image.
Companies such as Disneyland in the US are even more prescriptive. If you’re job doesn’t involve dressing up as one of the characters then you may not wear eye shadow (as a woman) or facial hair (if you are a man). They believe this helps customers identify members of staff.
Does it matter what you wear to work? Does it matter more that you do your job well? In some jobs the answer is, on both accounts, yes. If you are, for example, a builder, you are required to wear certain clothes to conform to health and safety regulations. If you work for a bank, however, it is probable that convention drives what you wear, rather than having to conform to any legal framework. But does this mean you should compromise your freedom of expression to fit in?
Sam Murray, chief executive officer of US firm ManagEase, a consultancy that has advised many organisations on dress codes, takes the view that, as a default, you should ask your staff to wear what they would outside of work to the office. Of course, the employer can drive the dress code. Many US companies have detailed dress policies, right down to the kind of jewellery, headdress and makeup an employee should wear. This can be helpful to new staff – but only, Murray says, if accompanied by information on where to buy the clothes. “Building a work wardrobe can be an expensive business,” she says. “Managers have to be willing to talk to their staff and advise them on where they can get appropriate work clothes at affordable prices.”
While the US has become very prescriptive on what employees should wear to work, companies in the UK are still somewhat behind. The large management consultancies may advise their staff on what to wear, but the majority of companies do not. A spokesman for recruitment specialist Monster says that more companies should include their dress code in their welcome packs, or even at the point of recruitment. “Many new graduates will not be aware of conventions surrounding what you should or shouldn’t wear to work. Companies should think about this when advertising for graduates.”
There is an overriding issue here, and that is the expectation of the public – the customer. People expect their bank manager to dress in a certain way, which engenders trust. But it is not correct to say, however, that this imposes rigidity on dress at work. Murray points out that, as fashions change, so do expectations of dress. For example, tattoos were once socially unacceptable, but are now much less so. She advises that companies who keep up with these fashion trends in their dress code will stand a much better chance of maintaining and enhancing staff morale.
