Bosses to workers: lose the flip-flops - Your Life - workplace dress

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2003

Most American employers feel employees should make changes in their workplace wardrobe choices. "No jeans" topped the list of responses when bosses were asked to identify one thing they would change concerning their workers' attire. The Wirthlin Worldwide survey was posed to 150 senior executives and CEOs among the nation's top 500 manufacturing and service firms.

Other preferences included shoes (vs. sandals or flip-flops); dress more formally; no tight or revealing clothing; wear suit jackets; and no sweats, shorts, or capri pants. In addition, more than 70% of executives surveyed concur that workplace attire affects an employee's state of mind or behavior and, therefore, his or her productivity in a place of business. Employees who wear more professional attire advance faster in their careers, according to 63% of executives.

"Given lingering high unemployment rates, employees may want to hang up the flip-flops, not just for the summer season, but for good," advises author and workplace expert Jeffrey Magee. "What these findings strongly suggest to employees is, even though your company dress code may be business casual, how you dress sends a message to your employer about your level of professionalism and productivity, and that it can impact your career path."

The survey also queried the American public about their views on workplace dress, and a surprising majority (69%) indicate they would react favorably if their companies adopted more professional dress codes, even though as many as 85% of executives believed they would not. Even more people (75%) would be willing to give up casual wear in the workplace if it helped them advance their careers faster and obtain better pay.

Moreover, 75% of the American public and 63% of employers said that their employees consider business casual attire to be a privilege (something they are allowed to do) rather than a right (something they are entitled to), debunking the notion that casual dress has become an employee benefit since the trend took root in the mid 1990s. "In the past several years, a handful of companies have readopted formal dress policies, and more recently, some surprisingly large corporations have even introduced company uniforms as a way to guard against overcasual attire," Magee reports. "Yet, for many companies, casual dress has become too casuals, but company executives remain reticent to revamp their policies. Given continued cutbacks in costly employee benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans, it's not surprising that so many executives believe that workers would riot if asked to adopt more professional attire.

"The good news now," he adds, "is that people's attitudes toward work-place attire appear to be changing, and employees today are willing to demonstrate a more serious approach to work, in general, largely given the economic environment. As a result, American companies could realize the associated benefits of this low-cost opportunity to boost productivity and not risk alienating the workforce"