As I stared into my closet trying to decide what to wear to work, all of the comments people make about work attire appeared like cartoon bubbles over my head. Do I listen to the person who says to dress for success? Do I listen to the person who says to dress to impress? Do I listen to the person who says to dress to progress? Or do I just dress to express?
My closet felt overwhelming.
Let me take a step back and start from the beginning. I had read that almost three-quarters of the “best companies to work for” in the U.K. have a formal business dress code. I shared this online, asking for people’s reactions and thoughts, and was surprised — little did I know how emotional and how strongly people felt about how one should (or shouldn’t) dress for work.
Does a suit command respect?
One responder drew a lot of attention and debate by saying that people trust and respect you more if you wear a suit. My immediate thought was that this wasn’t true. It’s not like we’re superheroes who put on our costumes (suits) and miraculously have the "power" to be trusted or respected. If it worked this way, we’d just give all managers and leaders suits as they were hired or promoted into their roles, and poof: Their superhero powers would emerge.
Leaders earn the trust and respect of their employees by doing things such as owning and living their company values, communicating in an open and honest way, owning their mistakes and having the courage to be naked and visible.
Does looking smart make you smarter?
An offshoot of this comment was the idea that you need to look smart to act smart. Some people believe you must wear a suit to achieve this, while others feel you personally define what "smart" means to you. Personally, I’m a fan of the latter, for as I’ve moved toward less formal attire in my current company, I’ve seen — and felt — that you can indeed dress and be smart without wearing a formal suit. However, if I’m being completely honest, there are times where I do put on a suit or a nice dress when I speak at a large event, because it gives me the extra confidence to get on stage in front of a large group of people. My co-author and colleague, however, wears his uniform of jeans and a T-shirt regardless of when and where he speaks, and he is one of the smartest people I know.
People decide and define for themselves exactly what makes them look and act “smart.” Smart has different meanings to each of us, and we need to respect and embrace these differences to get the best from our people.
Does casual attire increase creativity and productivity?
Another common idea about workplace attire is that an informal dress code makes employees more creative and productive. But if it were really this simple, we’d all come to work in jeans or sweatpants and we’d miraculously have the most creative and successful businesses. And what about pajamas? Would this take employees and businesses to an even higher level of creativity or productivity? Maybe onesies, but I'm not sure I want to travel on the train to work in my zebra onesie.
Creativity and productivity flourish when jobs are designed with the autonomy to encourage individual thought and innovation, employees are provided with the necessary tools and information to do their best and cultures exist to drive these behaviors.
Does one dress policy categorically work the best?
The final comment I’d like to share is one that drew more positive support: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to workplace dress code. It's a popular thought, no surprise, because we’re all different, whether it’s the job we do, how we feel about dress or the goals we’re personally trying to achieve. Some people like wearing suits, others hate it and the reasons why vary significantly from person to person.
Over the years I’ve built the idea of choice into the HR programs I’ve designed, and I believe the same needs to be done when it comes to work attire. There is a big "but" here, and that is it can only work in an environment that has a culture of trust. One where once we discuss with our employees the ins and outs of attire, creating an open and honest dialogue of what will and won’t work in certain work circumstances, and then trust our employees to do the “right” thing. And why not? If we hire them because we believe they are the right people for our company and for the job, then let’s trust them to wear the “right” clothes.
This goes hand in hand with the work we’re all doing to create a diverse and inclusive workplace, one that allows employees to bring their whole selves to work. Whether that means in a suit, a dress, jeans or whatever, don’t let dress code be a barrier to engaging your workforce. You can welcome individualism and just watch the positive results that follow.
