posted by TradePost in Business, Management
Dress codes are something that we all have to deal with as working professionals. While the industry we work in generally sets the standards, employers still have some flexibility to the degree employees have to dress up or down. And despite other considerable work-related issues like vacation time, health benefits, salary, and so on, the dress code for employment remains to be a fundamental topic that people really care about. Last week, “Job Talk with Anita Clew” published an interesting article, Addressing the Dress Code, which really seemed to resonate with readers and stir up quite a few opinions.
In the article, Anita notes a trend of the “corporate” dress code moving toward a more “business casual” standard. While there is certainly less individuality when dressing up for a “corporate” dress code, Anita remarks on the ease of pulling together this type of professional look because the only real decisions that have to be made revolve around the color of ties and shirts for that day. This in turn makes it easier for businesses to maintain a professional look for all of their employees and create uniformity amongst the entire company. Instead, dressing for a “business casual” look can be a much trickier task. The ability to mix casual with formal requires much more fashion insight, especially where women are concerned.
And speaking of women—what about the pantyhose requirement in the workplace? According to Anita, this is one dated requirement that employers should do away with, or at the very least, make optional. While yes, pantyhose do in fact come in handy for providing a more polished look, the fact is they frankly can be a huge pain!
At the end of her article, Anita wraps it up asking her audience to weigh in on both dress codes and specifically pantyhose for women. The answers were pretty much unanimous—workplaces need to employ some type of dress code for their employees. One reader observed a link between dressing casually and taking their work less seriously, especially in the case of “Casual Fridays,” while another reader remarked on the inappropriateness that ensued from “Pajama Fridays.” The fact is, discrepancies will always occur when employers lack clear-cut policies regarding dress codes at work because people hold different judgments about appropriateness in the workplace.
Surprisingly though, the consensus on pantyhose was not widespread—some readers hate them, others see their use but feel they should be optional, and one reader even went as far to say that they should be mandatory for all professional dress codes. But what about that old adage that says you should always dress for the job you want, not the job you have? In many cases, this means wearing pantyhose and professional attire.