Back-to-Business Attire - Society of Human Resource Management report says casual dress codes declining - Brief Article

Training & Development, Nov, 2000 by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson

If you have to wear a suit to work, you probably feel like everyone else in the world is allowed to dress down. But although 87 percent of American companies do allow casual dress, that number is declining, according to this year's benefits study by the Society of Human Resource Management,

In 1998, the figure hit a high of 97 percent; in 1999, it decreased to 95 percent. This year, the number of companies allowing casual dress is 10 percent lower than just two years ago.

The cause of the decline? We can put part of the blame on employees who arrive at the office in clothes more appropriate for a day of chores. According to a survey by Accountemps, a California-based staffing service, close to 40 percent of managers said they thought workers appeared too casual when dressing down. However, discarding a casual dress policy isn't the only solution. Companies should first try a dress code that spells out what can and can't be worn in the office. A written policy also heads off legal trouble; when the policy isn't on paper, an employee whose clothing is judged inappropriate could charge discrimination.

But not all issues regarding casual dress can be solved with a written policy. A 1999 study by employment law firm Jackson Lewis found that 44 percent of the HR executives polled noticed more tardiness and absenteeism after implementing a formal casual dress policy--excuse the oxymoron.

In the same study, 30 percent of respondents reported a rise in flirtatious behavior after allowing casual dress. Jackson Lewis urges clients to monitor employees' behavior to prevent sexual harassment charges.

Judith Rasband, director of the Conselle Institute of Image Management, says, "The business casual trend isn't about fashion. It's about the whole casualization of America that began in the turbulent 1960s. It's about the general decline in civility."

The Conselle Institute teaches that the way you look directly affects the way you think, feel, and act. Rasband says, "When you dress down, you sit down--the couch potato trend. Manners break down, you begin to feel down, and you're not as effective."

Rasband urges people to pay close attention to the messages their clothing sends. Sherry Maysonave, author of Casual Power, says, "People think you're smarter when you're well dressed, and they think you come from a high socioeconomic class."

Indeed, many nouveau riche men and women of the Internet age are bringing back professional dress as a statement: "I have arrived." A member of the American Apparel Manufacturers Association quoted in the Washington Post had this to say about the return to professional dress: "If you have a growing class of affluent young people, they're going to want options."

Clothing manufacturers and retailers are ready to provide options. In an attempt to revive the standards of professional dress, a group of men's clothing retailers has started a movement called Dress Up Thursday, with the mission "to assist corporate America in reconceptualizing the importance of appropriate business attire in the workplace."

The group's Website, www.1dressup.com, explains that the casual dress trend has run away with the original concept, turning into "sloppy casual" or "weekend casual." To stem that tide, the movement asks retailers and manufacturers to contact a CEO whom they know personally and to ask him or her to "raise the bar in terms of office dress decorum on Thursdays," starting last September.

Judith Rasband and the Conselle Institute are also participating in the Dress Up Thursday movement; Rasband's Guide for Dressing With Professional Style will be made available to participants. She says, "Dress Up Thursday is a great vehicle allowing you to experience the difference in the way you think, feel, and act as well as the way others react to you. Super-casual for after work and [weekends] makes a nice change. Relaxing...becomes special."