Dress Code Woes

I like this post from the HR Capitalist called, Why Enforcing Dress Codes Will Drive All Men Out of HR. Here is a snippet:

Could the manager have had the conversation without getting you involved?  Sure.  Without saying something to get you sued?   Hmmm.   So you walk down to Cube 317 to take care of business.  You pull out speech 17b on what's appropriate or not and BAAAM!!!!  Alice tells you she has a medical condition where the spandex in the pants helps her circulation, and the slippers are the only thing her feet will fit into because of the swelling.  You look up and - I'm not joking but you guessed it - there are 20 Call Center Reps, all dressed the right way, watching what you are going to say next.

Well, female HR pros don't like spending there time on such issues either. I understand it might be more uncomfortable for men to say (in their special HR way), "hey, honey, zip up the shirt, you're making the men and some women salivate into their keyboards.

How much ought we care about dress code and why do people act dumb when they know the dress code?

1. How much ought we care? As little as possible. For workplaces that don't interact with clients - No private parts hanging out, no undergarments showing, basically (this is different in a factory where safety issues might also be a factor). If clients come into the office, then perhaps dress needs to rise to the level of "business casual." But then you get into skirt length and the materials that pants are made of. Denim, spandex, no holes or patches. Is cleavage OK if the blouse is silk but not if it's a cotton tank?

2. Why do people act dumb and wear sleazy or slimy or sloppy clothing? Adults will not make the best judgments when they don't feel connected to the workplace. If you have a workplace that is more like a impersonal factory - with extrinsic rewards being the only impetus for answering the phones with a nice tone of voice, you are going to create a workplace where people act like children. If you have to spend a lot of time enforcing dress code issues, I would say you have bigger problems than the dress code. The spandex is just the canary in the coal mine that indicates a control oriented workplace that does not foster connection, engagement, and ownership.

The more work feels like high school, the more likely you will be asked to become a hall monitor.

One more thing - you want to solve the problem of girls dressing in miniskirts and skimpy tops? Turn down the thermostat. Freeze them into some decent clothing. I'm kidding, of course.

Comments

[Herman Najoli]

It's just amazing how we can easily lose site of the bottom-line by focusing on what matters least. Granted, dress is a part of office life but I think it's a tiny part compared to all the other things we should focus on. Why spend hours at the water cooler or coffee maker talking about dress when we can be spending those hours meditating on the roof so as to get the latest innovative ideas?