What are your views on dress codes at the moment?

*Looks down at Skechers*

Well...

I have been asked to review ours as the standard of dress has slipped slightly over the last couple of years with some people wearing vans, converse or sketcher trainers others wearing hoodies.

I can't help but notice that there's no suggestion that performance has slipped, or sales, or customer satisfaction, or stock price, or net profits, or, indeed, any meaningful measure of actual outcomes for the organisation.

If the only reason for reviewing the dress code is because someone in the C-suite is upset that people aren't wearing suits anymore, then I suggest that they need to spend a bit more time focused on their KPIs.

When Mary Barra first proposed the new GM dress code in 2018, I was pretty skeptical. She reduced a lengthy policy document to two words: dress appropriately. To some extent it was an attention-seeking act, but the object as she explained it was to both empower employees to make their own judgements about their role, their tasks and the clothes that were appropriate, and also managers to have actual conversations with employees about adapting. The 2014 media excitement about a Nasa engineer's shirt illustrated the issue that thinking about what we wear matters, but companies may lose more than they gain by proscribing dress codes, as PwC discovered when they sought to enforce a requirement that women working in reception roles wore high heels in 2016.

In short, I think companies are much better off with brief (if not GM-brief) dress codes that encourage thought and dialogue rather than setting down strict and detailed expectations.

Also, on a related note, I was in a meeting with four colleagues the other day, on Teams, when we realised we were all wearing hoodies. We were waiting for a fifth colleague and, when she arrived, she was bemused to be greeted with cheers and laughter... because she, too, was wearing a hoodie.

We have had a 'dress appropriately' dress code in since 2018 and like others work on the basis that employees are adults and generally speaking will make sensible grown up decision, especially if not policed by a 'HR' policy!

Hi Alyson,

I really hate dress codes for exactly the reasons mentioned below: people are adults - you should expect and trust them to dress appropriately. And I've come across the whole 'we MUST have a policy' (to deal with the one person who's missed the mark, rather than everyone else).

We're a relatively casual tech company - it just means that those of us looking a bit smarter today because of external meetings have had jokes about job interviews all morning!

Hoodies, the dress code for those who are trying not to put the heating on.

Your post also reminded me of the dress code - Wear clothes. Meant as a tongue in cheek of course but designed to treat people as adults. This was an accountancy firm.

I'm all for the 'no policies' in situations like this. I think it was the Netflix CEO that said something like there's no dress policy and nobody has turned up naked yet!

We have a uniform but only for patient-facing employees - simply so that in public areas patients can quickly identify whom to ask for help. We have a variety of options and have specifically worded the policy so it's not gender-specific.

If people haven't been happy with the options that we can provide and have come with a reasonable option which is broadly the same colour and not super-expensive (i.e. not an incredibly revealing piece of designer clothing) then we'll just reimburse the employee.

For everyone else they can wear the uniform if they wish, otherwise it's just something work-appropriate but even then it's hardly policed (mainly because there's no need to!)

Generally speaking I'd do away with a uniform policy if I could - I have always liked the principle of 'dress for your day' - if you have external meetings, then wear something smart. Otherwise, wear what you're comfortable with.

LIke others, we have become much more casual over the last few years. We used to be a jacket-and-tie sort of company (we are professional services), but it reached the point where we would go to a client meeting and everyone else would be in an open necked shirt or smart casual. If you were wearing a tie you felt totally over-dressed and we were starting to look stuffy and old-fashioned.

Dress code was starting to relax anyway and then after all the home-working through covid we've just never gone back to the formal attire. Most people wear jeans and a shirt or nice top sort of combo. Vans etc are fine but not 'trainers'. We don't have a dress code as such, but the guidance is along the lines of "smart casual, no ripped jeans or sportswear". In the Summer the MD was wearing shorts and t-shirt and we all took our cue from him.

I genuinely feel the office is a more relaxed place to be but I know productivity has not dropped at all.

My favourite description for 'appropriate workwear' has always been "if you can see up it, down it or through it then it's not appropriate"!

That last part is excellent - definitely going to hang onto that for the future! XD

Hello Alyson,

I think your policy on dress code will be guided by the culture in your organization and the promises you make to your clients or how you introduce your company to your clients.

Here are some of the things to consider:
- Company tone of voice (internal and with clients).
- Language used written and spoken
- Nature of your business
- How You introduce yourself to your clients, images in brochures etc..
- general use of formality in the company (like process, approvals etc..)

Some of your staff have to wear uniforms, so you could consider smart-casual for office staff so the difference is not too big.