The office dress code is changing faster than Millennials are taking over the workplace. With the meteoric rise to power of people such as Facebookโs Mark Zuckerberg, more and more start-up CEOs favour jeans and t-shirts over button downs and ties. This brings up the question of whether traditional business attire is on its way out. Iโd wager it probably still has a place, even in this world of young entrepreneurs and telecommuters.
There was a time when โforward thinkingโ companies rewarded their employees with casual Fridays, giving them the chance to let loose and leave their suits at home. While this is still the case at some places, for others casual Fridays have turned into casual weeks and wearing jeans is no longer a special occasion.
My very first job during university was as a call centre agent for a bank and the dress code was strictly business attire, aside from the odd Friday here and there โ mind you we were merely phone agents and never saw a customer face-to-face. Managementโs reasoning was that by dressing professionally you would sound more professional over the phone. Speaking as a Millennial myself, I hardly think that logic applies to the modern employee.
Obviously there are times when the humble suit is essential โ namely when youโre meeting with clients or work at an office where external parties come for frequent visits. I appreciate that for many PAs looking smart is essential, and Iโm a big believer that โsmartโ for a woman doesnโt mean a skirt and heels.
But does wearing โstreet clothesโ make a person less capable or less presentable? I think not. Our dress code here is quite lax, but we all work incredibly hard. We also smarten up when we know weโre meeting our readers. The work is getting done and the clients are none the wiser. Isnโt that the most important thing for bosses to consider?
Iโve seen many a businessman looking sharp in a pair tailored jeans and a nice jacket, and equally dapper ladies pairing dark jeans with a dressy blouse. I personally donโt see anything wrong with this, but some of the older business people I know think such a dress code should be saved for โafter workโ meetings and weekends only.
Megan Garber from The Atlantic recently wrote a piece on the topic, detailing the historic rise of โbusiness casualโ, which links back to a fascinating article by Vanessa Friedman from The New York Times. The latter refers to the case of Nicola Thorp, the temp worker who took PwC to court for sending her home when she refused to wear heels at the office, as well as the numerous recent incidents of organisations taking their dress code enforcement a bit too far.
The reality is that all of these high-profile stories have brought the topic โ which used to be an unspoken issue โ into the publicโs eye and people are weighing in. Ultimately the decision is to be made by the powers that be within individual companies, but perhaps business casual deserves a fighting chance.
What are your thoughts on the issue? Does your office have a strict dress code? Leave your comments below.
