What’s Your Management Dress Code?
October 8, 2007 by Phil Gerbyshak
Filed under Business
Wayne Turmel started it all, with his article called Wearing Big Boy Clothes. In it, Wayne argues he behaves more professionally when he wears his “big boy clothes,” an interesting comment to say the least. Wayne is a cranky middle manager in the Midwest.
Lisa Haneberg argues we shouldn’t care about a dress code. Lisa says if you don’t care about the dress code, you don’t have to act like a hall monitor. And that this is a very good thing. And actually, Lisa follows up her initial thoughts with some more great points. My favorite part of her second article was this, that I 100% agree with: “Create a culture where thoughts, not labels, impress.” Lisa is a management consultant in Seattle.
Wayne got an intervention from The Mad Gringo, who sent him a nice casual shirt. Interestingly enough, The Mad Gringo is in Nebraska.
I tend to lean more with Wayne than I do with Lisa and The Mad Gringo, and I’ll tell you why. In early 2000, I got a job with a company where everyone had to dress up. Guys had to always wear dress pants, dress shirts and ties, and women had to wear nice business suits. Every day. No “casual Fridays” there. And the environment was much more professional, and much less collegiate. Folks acted more professionally there, and treated each other with more respect.
Contrast that with a job I had the year before that, where there was no dress code. We had people come to work in sneakers, flip flops, heck we even had folks take their shoes and socks off if their feet were wet and walk around the office barefoot. You couldn’t tell the leaders from the lay people there. And you could tell that there wasn’t much respect for anyone…except for the sales guys who always wore at least business casual clothes.
I’ll actually take a happy medium, where folks can wear dress shirts and ties, or khakis and polos, it just depends on what your customer is wearing. If your customer is internal associates, you can be a little less formal. As long as I still don’t look completely out of place with a shirt and tie on from time to time, I’m a happy guy. As a manager, I would rather NOT play the HR police game, because as a man managing women, I know I can’t win. But as long as HR puts rules out there, I have to make sure they’re followed, even if folks in HR don’t follow their own rules.
I feel and act smarter when I wear a shirt and tie, so when I need the extra brain power at work because of an important meeting or a key project, I’ll dress up. NOTE: I also don’t feel very comfortable in jeans, even on the weekends, but am perfectly happy in shorts and sandals. Yes, I’m an odd duck.
What about you? Do you like a shirt and tie, or do you prefer cabana days, every day? Do you think what you wear contributes to how you think? Maybe it’s time we took a hard look at our policies AND our thought processes!
[Phil Gerbyshak is an IT manager in Milwaukee, WI. He enjoys pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain, just not at work. Except on very special Fridays!]
Phil,
You are dressed for success in the picture. In my heart of hearts I like jeans and a t-shirt but I have been moving to wearing business casual with a plus – nice clothes with a jacket, avoid the tie if I can.
David
People earn my authentic respect by who they, what they do, and how they treat others and not by what they wear. I work as staff in a university setting and have a lot more respect for my casually dressed co-workers (who do the actual work) than the “suits” that make the incredulous decisions that make life difficult for the rest of us.
Personally, I’m a jeans and dress shirt (polo, button up ,etc) kind of guy but I can blend in regardless of the dress code. What I wear doesn’t affect my ability to think or do my job and has never seemed to affect the ability of people that I’ve worked with either.
I’ve worked in many different organizations….some with dress codes and some without. The ability to ‘get the job done’ has never revolved around the dress code but the culture of the organization.
I find it funny when I hear of an organization instituting a more formal dress code to try to make their employees ‘more professional’. If you are a resorting to making someone ‘dress up’ to act professionally, perhaps the organization needs to revisit their hiring practices and organizational culture.
I appreciate the comments about dress and productivity.
I have taught at University for almost 25 years and I am a jeans kind of teacher. When I am in certain businesses I will dress up more depending upon the culture.
I hope I am not becoming Zelig, the human chameleon from the Woody Allen movie. Context plays a big role in dress for me.
Of course I have a home office and I enjoy working in my house coat!
David
At last, someone who is backing me up…. Thanks, Phil. I knew I”d stir up a little bit of a controversy with that article, but never expected it to wobble around the blog-osphere like this.
In my heart, I know it shouldn’t matter what I wear. I just know that if it makes me act like a big boy, then that’s what I have to do. Those of your readers with stronger moral fiber than mine can cluck if they will.
Of course, now I have to work to get the vision of D Zinger in his housecoat out of my brain. Thanks for that one.
I will continue to wear a shirt, tie and big boy pants… I don’t have the legs for any of the options.
Wayne,
Sorry about the housecoat image. I’ll make sure I change into jeans and a sweatshirt for the next week when I am working in my home/office.
David
I’m of two minds about this.
On the one hand, I agree that dress does actually make a difference. Each time I buy a car, I dress professionally, and I get treated with greater respect and actually get a better negotiating position. The few times I’ve not dressed up, I found the experience greatly frustrating. It’s not hard to extrapolate that to a working environment.
On the other hand, I think too many managers underestimate the importance of comfort to certain types of productivity. If I’m going to be spending a week “crunching” to develop a new application feature, I’ll be dressed in old jeans and a t-shirt. If I’m less comfortable than that, I’ll be distracted from the task at hand.
I guess I’d conclude that dress code should follow the needs of the task at hand. If your job requires that you deal with customers (even internal ones), it’s important to dress up a bit — you’ll have a better time of it. If, though, your job does not require face-to-face interaction, then why worry about dress codes?
Readers have really “tied” into this post.
Well done Phil.
Now, as this is Slacker Manager do you recommend a certain type of slacks?
David – Good for you! Business casual is a great look!
Tom – I hear you about authentic respect, and actually DOING the work. But if you combine the two, hard work PLUS a professional look, then everyone can see the great work you do!
Eric – Good for you for being fortunate enough to work with professionals in all facets of your career. Most aren’t so lucky.
I don’t think it’s “resorting” to dress up. It’s more of a way to shift the culture to a more formal, more business like, way of thinking. And some customers are demanding it.
David (again) – When you work from home, you can wear whatever you wish. Context is key. Know your audience, I say.
Wayne – Definitely behind you. You’re right, it SHOULDN’T matter. But it DOES, in our hearts, our minds, and in our customers’ hearts and minds.
I’m a much smarter looking guy in my “big boy clothes” too!
David (third times the charm) – No need to change, just please don’t share your pictures :)
Darren – You made a brilliant point: “Follow the needs of the task at hand.” Though I don’t know if it’s necessarily the face-to-face interaction that matters. I think it’s the face-to-face interaction THINKING that matters. If we all would just behave as though the client were actually sitting next to us, even if we were working at home, then perhaps we wouldn’t need to dress up. But alas, some can’t “act professionally” so our hands are tied and we have to force the hand we’re dealt.
David (4 comments, thanks for the support) – I’m not as punny as you, so I’ll leave yours alone. :)
Perhaps the idea works for those who wear “big boy’s clothes.” Women’s clothing is another matter. Women’s dress clothing generally feels as though it’s made of petroleum compounds, which it usually is. It’s tailored for immobile mannequins, so even reaching for a keyboard risks ripping the sleeves out of a nice blouse. Ladies’ blouses rarely have whole sleeves. They end halfway to the wrist like outgrown hand-me-downs. Our dress stockings are clinging, clammy, and cold, and have no discernable function except in the oldest business. Our dress shoes bear no resemblance to feet, at least, not the kind with five toes. I’ve never been able to reconcile myself to the popular idea that wearing the stuff indicates intelligence.
Kathy,
I appreciate the other gender’s perspective on this, it makes slacks and a tie seem like no big deal.
David
Mad Phil:
Having just returned from the land of cheese and beer (poor Pack attack) WI needs more tropical shirts.
It was 85 and humid.
I still hate neckties. Funerals and weddings maybe. But even then – only my own.
Go slow.
I’ve been in environments where ties and slacks are the norm, as well as flip flops and have found that both can work. I think it depends on a few things though.
Client facing or not. In IT shops I’ve worked in, the casual wear was always much appreciated. Myself, I worked both in “the back” were clients were not expected and took part in various client meetings. I always kept a clean, pressed dress shirt in my office for those client meetings as that’s a time to make a good impression.
Size. I’ve found that in a smaller, tight-knit company, casual wear really has no impact. In larger companies though, labels often do come into play. Often it is difficult to separate what we see with what we know… if we don’t know all the people in a workplace, then all we’ve got is what we see and then too, I think dressing appropriately counts in a large way.
Degree of casual. I’ve not seen a great deal of difference in the way people act between jeans and a golf shirt vs. slacks and dress shirt. However, it seems to me that the jump to a suit is a big one and likewise the jump down to a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. I think that one must gauge their environment and be actively aware of the message they are trying to convey at any given time and dress accordingly.
Role. As an employee, I tend to be more lax on my personal dress code than when I’m consulting.
Personal rules that I follow:
For ease, I assume three environments for dress. Casual, Business Casual, and Business. Currently, as a consultant; I like to fit in where I work and make a good impression. I dress to suite the environment, but I always strive to dress at the higher end of that environment.
Another area of labels/image is everything… if I’m in a Casual environment (as I am now), I will wear jeans now and then, but I still wear long sleeves. When it’s the middle of summer this draws the odd comment, but here is my reason: I’ve a rather significant tattoo collection, which brings on a whole new layer of labeling!
This probably doesn’t apply to many people, but I’ve experimented with the visibility of my tattoos and psychologically, it is quite interesting. In the past, I worked with a small team in the IT realm. It was with a start-up and there was no such thing as a dress code. For awhile, I wore long sleeves and gaged how people reacted to me. They knew I had tattoos, and had even seen them, but I kept them covered while working. Later, I switched to short sleeves and again gaged reactions.
Here’s where the human psyche became interesting and is the root of why I cover my ink:
1. The tattoos distracted people (especially the ones on my forearms). In meetings, or if reviewing a document, many people’s eyes would flicker to the ink, sometimes openly stare and occasionally a spontaneous question about them while in the middle of other things. This was never in awe or disgust, but rather in interest… but a distraction none-the-less.
2. The number of daily interruptions I got from co-workers dropped by nearly 10%. I’m not sure the exact reason, but when I went back to long sleeves, that number rose again. On the surface, this may seem like a good thing, but I’m often in the role of process-reengineering (hence tracking stats such as interruptions is 2nd nature) and encourage interaction. It also pointed to some level of discomfort (all my tattoos are non-political, non-religious, non-violent and are otherwise not offensive but the human psyche is what it is).
3. In my current workplace, there’s a guy here with about 1/3 the ink that I’ve got and he shows it to a slight degree. I find even my own reaction is to consider him to be less of a professional (this is not to say I think of him as less capable, but the term “less” is still in my description, regardless of how I try to justify it).
Oddly, I find that if co-workers or clients see my tattoos when I run into them by happenstance outside of the office, they are usually quite surprised and intrigued and such encounters tend to strengthen the relationship in the office when the tattoos are covered… perhaps it is because they’ve shared in “a secret” or it simply makes me stick out a little more in their mind… anyway, I’ve again written far more than intended, but I think labels and impressions can be fascinating.
Great article again Phil!
I would like to second what Kathy said about women’s dress clothing. It is highly uncomfortable and not made with work in mind. I find that my thoughts flow more freely and I am much less hampered in getting things done when I am dressed in casual slacks or jeans with an equally casual top. I am emphatically against the idea that clothing should be the measure of a person’s dedication or work ethic.
If I need to make an impression — client meetings, etc — I don’t mind wearing dress clothes. However, if I want to get work done I will opt for casual attire every time.
I hope NBC’s The Office does not read this or I can see that we would have Michael Scott, in his infinite wisdom or infantile wisdom, declare that men whould dress in women’s clothing and women dress in men’s clothing so that it would build increased sensitivity in the office.
Kathy – You make some good points. I’m not for the discomfort of silk. I am however for something that covers your feet (meaning no sandals, and definitely not sandals with the piece of rubber that splits your big toe off from the rest of the foot). But truly, what is a fair dress code for a woman? A pair of dress slacks, a full pair of shoes, socks, and a nice shirt. I think that’s fair. Would you agree, or do you have a better dress code? Sorry, jeans, t-shirts and sneakers are a no-go.
Mad Gringo – Sure WI needs more tropical shirts…Like we need more Packer fans wearing cheese ties to work. Really, come on. Like we need to be MORE casual here? In a state where “dressing up” means a Packer polo shirt? No thanks. I’ll wear my collared shirt and tie. Thanks.
Doug – fantastic points! And interesting research. I hadn’t even thought about the visible versus non-visible tattoos. Thanks for sharing that! Glad you enjoyed the article.
Dani – I’m not sure what you do, so I can’t say whether or not I agree, but I find myself most creative in my flannel pajamas….But I wouldn’t wear it to work. Jeans, unless you’re a construction worker, are not professional looking.
And you may not agree that clothing is the measure of someone’s work ethic, but it is. Why do most banks, unless you’re in the southern half of the US or the southern hemisphere, have folks dress UP, not down. Would you give your money to someone who can’t afford dress clothes? I wouldn’t.
David – If the rules were the same for men and for women, dress codes would be easier for managers like me to enforce. Forget pantyhose and neck ties if you will, or assume they’re close to equal pain. Cotton top with long sleeves, belt to match the shined dress shoes, dress pants (choose your material) and socks that match the pants. It’s really that simple.
So many interesting comments!
I love the look of tats, BTW, unless they are offensive in their content. I give points for independence and creativity to people with great TATs (not accurate all the time, but no different than giving respect to tie wearing dudes).
Yeah, yeah, put on the tie and you will get more more and better attention. Dressing up is the best strategy for individuals. BUT as managers and leaders, we need to be concerned with the culture we build.
Do you want a Desperate Housewives workplace or something along the lines of a TED vibe? I already regret that I have asked this question.
I agree, also, with the notion that women’s business attire sucks. That said, I think women can wear pants suits and shoes made much the way of men’s. Panty hose must have been invented by men – no doubt about it.
Phil – I am SHOCKED that one of the “slackers” is not endorsing the slacker way. :-)
I was at a Sherman Alexie reading where he did this whole rant on Crocs – how they are GARDEN shoes that people now wear to nice restaurants and that this is so wrong. Funny.
I guess I’ve had different experiences than the other women who have commented. My company has a business casual dress code, so suits aren’t required for men OR women. However, I have several suits (with pants) that are very comfortable and I enjoy wearing to work. Even when I’m not wearing a suit, I’m almost always wearing a jacket of some type. I just feel more “put together.” In our work environment, there’s a noticable difference in how some employees define business casual. You could probably (although not in all cases) determine whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt by how they are dressed — and I’m not talking about brands. I’m talking about the degree of casualness. I generally fall on the less casual side, even on casual Fridays when jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes are permitted. I usually wear tailored jeans with dressy flats and a blouse or sweater.
I guess I tend to be less casual because of an experience I had when I was younger and working for a different organization. We’d been without a director for a month or two and I guess we (the employees) had gotten rather lax about our attire. I remember that a manager from another department came in one day and made a comment about how people were dressed (even though there was not a dress code). It was a wake-up call for me. I was hoping to advance in the organization and I realized that I needed to start looking the part. So I started paying more attention to my appearance and how others might perceive me based on how I look.
My husband and I have a running joke between us that goes back to when we first started dating. I can’t remember now what brought it up, but we like to say, “It’s better to look good than to feel good.” Actually, when you look good and know it, you will probably feel good, too. And that’s way more than I intended to write, so I’ll stop here.
“It’s better to look good than to feel good.”
Ala “Fernando” from Saturday Night Live, performed by Billy Crystal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZl3gGV4H6c
–tom
Tom K. – Thank you! It’s all coming back now. I knew it came from somewhere else, but I couldn’t remember where. Thanks for the flashback!
What a great range of comments…so much for if the shoe fits wear it…we better know what shoes we are wearing and why we are wearing them…you gotta have sole!
Lisa – Men invented pantyhose in the early 19th century, as revenge for the invention of the neck tie. :)
Crocs as dress shoes? No thanks! If they don’t polish, don’t wear them. At least not if you wish to be taken seriously.
I love to slack as much as the next guy, but I also want to be taken seriously, for the ILLUSION of doing work is the true slacker way. If wearing dress clothes makes me look like I’m working harder, I’m ALL for it!
Paughnee – you are so very right! Everyone has a different definition of business casual, that’s why it’s not an effective dress code. Khakis mean one thing to me and another to the gal sitting next to me. I worked at a place that had a 15 page guide on what was (and wasn’t) business casual. And honestly, it could have been 150 pages, for there STILL was wiggle room.
The lesson you learned about being “too casual” is one I’ve learned as well. Thanks for sharing your story. It was just the right length, and I appreciate your contribution to the story.
Tom – You type mahvelous! Thanks for the smile.
David – You are again our punmeister, though I’m left wondering…”Who will save YOUR sole?” Probably Allen-Edmonds.
Personally, I can never find shirts that fit me at the neck, so I hate dressing up in a tie, because the shirt never quite fits me. This makes me feel nervous and awkward when I have to present. In a casual environment I am much more relaxed and effective as a speaker.
A while back I remember reading about how the fashion industry was having a hard time convincing men and boys to wear pants. Shorts were in and trying to sell denim jeans was hard for many retailers. It did not dawn on me until then, that both my sons and I wear wearing more khaki shorts than pants.
If you demand a more professional environment at work, I would recommend giving employees more training on communicating and less strict dress codes. I know that when I worked for a company with a strict dress code, it made the work environment more hostile and employees started working less after hours.
In my example business suit has nothing to do with either the quality of my behavior or respect I face. When not meeting a customer my personal dress code is rather radical – T-shirt and shorts, almost all year long. I feel comfortable that way and that’s only reason to dress that way. Of course when I go meet the customer I switch to more appropriate, depending on the customer) business or business casual (more business than casual though).
Going on the general level I don’t believe actually formalized dress code can help with building respect among employers or improve their performance. By the way – many of above comments pointed that casual comfortable clothes are chosen when there’s some real work to do.
Quite the different thing is with situation when I’m the customer in everyday life. If I go to buy a car I never wear suit just because guys who want my money would treat me better then. If they don’t want to have my money that’s rather their problem, not mine. I’ll find others who will treat me seriously, no matter if I wear a tie or not.
Maybe a new way to look at it is your dress (in a working environment) is possibly how you think of yourself…it may be an outer expression of your inner self-image. Everything we think about ourselves is expressed somehow and perhaps the way we dress when we are “seriously” working is an expression of our attitude towards the work we are doing. If I have to get sloppy-comfortable when I’m tackling a task, then maybe I need to be doing something else. I notice that my desk has to be organized and my work as well. I think my appearance reflects that. I also think that others tend to trust someone more when they look like they “have it together”. Just a thought….