The Significance of the Dress Code at the Workplace
Introduction
There is an incentive of how generally we dress on different occasions. How you dress at work portrays how you will be perceived and how well your company is organized. It, not all cloth we wear to the workplace. Some rules and regulations guide the dress code. Employers setting a dress code should look at how that dress will portray the company. Setting the standard for behavior is also important in a workplace environment. Client should be treated with respect, loyalty and honesty.
Firstly, different companies or organizations have different operations and work they carry out. Different sector and fields of operation have a different way they should dress. Therefore the choice of clothing in a company should depend on the kind of work the company does or the kind of services they render. Knowing that the choice of clothing depicts the company’s services, the management should consider the kind of clothing that portrays the company in a well-defined manner. Furthermore, the way we dress determines the impression we create. The first impression matters a lot in business and at the employment level. For instance, if I decide to go for an employment interview in a very reputable company and I dress like a farmer or dress in rags, the employer will not take me seriously because of my dress code making me look irresponsible. Which means I am not qualified for the job just for the way I presented myself with my choice of cloth that I wore for that interview. Nevertheless, the choice of clothing we wear in an organization gives the employer, manager, and client self-respect. Another example if a female doctor should choose to dress like a cleaner or a housemaid (wearing a cleaner or housemaid uniform) to a consultant room in the hospital, the patients will not want the doctor to attend to them. This female doctor’s perception of herself reduces her self-esteem, self-confidence, and the patient will not trust or respect her for their treatment. Additionally, the choice of cloth both employees and employees put on to work, meeting with business partners, and in business places depicts how well the organization is represented.
The workplace dress code should be in a professional style. According to LaMarco (2019), “An employer’s standard for dress code creates a standard for visual cohesion” (para.2). It means that the standard of dress codes that employers set creates a picture that sticks together with the quality of their services. There should be oneness in their dress code. The cloth set by the employer for the employees to wear, if it is in a standard form, it gives the employees the ability to feel involved making them put their efforts towards one purpose that is greatness and success of the organization. Employees express themselves through the cloth they wear and it expresses how they present their business before the public because how we dress sends information of who we are as we are representative of the company (LaMarco, 2019). In setting dress code employers should think about comfort, modesty, safety, and the group of employees the company has because they may have different contact with clients that will demand more than just one dress code (LaMarco, 2019). The dress chosen by the employer should portray the company well and the employees should follow the dress code given without flaunting the rules. In behavior standards, the employer should set a certain way the employees should address their client and customers and these embody treating their customers with respect, honesty, fairness, and without bribe.
These standard are important because of the company’s reputation that is it makes the company to look reputable or not reputable. When people dressed cooperate and formally, they receive the respect that embodies the company’s vision and mission. Dress code makes the staff to be in uniform and their good behavior standard displays honesty which brings trust to the people they transact business with. It enables the clear identification of the staff of an organization.
Clothing might affect an international company’s approach to business ethics in various ways. Cloth or dress is an important means of roles' definition and self identification. In an organization the dress code affects the employee's perceptions of the quality of their performance (Shinn et al., n.d). When the employees are rule abiding, they will be seen internationally as transformational staffs of the company, because they are attracted by their dress code.
Conclusion
According to Shinn et al., (n.d) “dressing more formally and professionally exudes a message of authority, credibility, confidence, and a success-oriented attitude. Many studies have been done that show a definite correlation between how we dress and how we act. When we’re dressed in appropriate business attire, we tend to act in appropriate business fashion. When we’re not, we don’t,” (Lee, 2005, p. 36). Advocates of formal dress codes believe that casual dressers not only leave their professionalism open to question, but may also jeopardize the professional reputation of the company for which they work for. Target Corporation recognized this threat and revised its dress code from business casual to jacket and tie in November of 2004. Target hoped it would inspire other corporations and companies to follow suit, so to speak. In regards to poorly dressed employees, the CEO of Global Success Strategies, Inc., said “they’re great at their jobs; however, they don’t have any idea how to present themselves professionally with their clothing, their body language, and their etiquette”
References
- LaMarco, N. (2019, February 9). The Importance of a Dress Code for professional. Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-womens-business-casual-dress-business-attire-23682.html
- Lee, A. (2005). The style incentive. Potentials, 38(9), 32-40. Retrieved from Business Source Elite database
- Shinn, A., Swigart, A., Gritters, A., & Schmailzl, M. Dress codes in the workplace: Effect on organizational culture. Central College. https://central.edu/writing-anthology/2019/06/04/dress-codes-in-the-workplace-effects-on-organizational-culture/
