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On Powdered Wigs and Occupations
Octoparrot
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I recently received a periodic evaluation and, as is the norm, a comment was that perhaps I should dress a bit more professionally.
It's led me to take notice of reinforcement of the division of labor, from the uniformed mechanic or custodian to the two piece suit to the tech guy in shorts and tee shirt. I believe it facilitates a palpable, if however subtle, attitudes of us-versus-them between groups like blue and white collar workers, like having "city hands from counting money all their lives". Obviously some roles are important to obviate (law enforcement) but others (education) it seems, not really.
But the entire matter of wearing button-up shirts is transient, 200 years ago employer was scolding employee "You have arrived with niether cap nor peacoat, surely you are mad!"
Do you have to dress up for work? What's your take on fashion as identification? Welcome to a civilization based on specialization?
It's led me to take notice of reinforcement of the division of labor, from the uniformed mechanic or custodian to the two piece suit to the tech guy in shorts and tee shirt. I believe it facilitates a palpable, if however subtle, attitudes of us-versus-them between groups like blue and white collar workers, like having "city hands from counting money all their lives". Obviously some roles are important to obviate (law enforcement) but others (education) it seems, not really.
But the entire matter of wearing button-up shirts is transient, 200 years ago employer was scolding employee "You have arrived with niether cap nor peacoat, surely you are mad!"
Do you have to dress up for work? What's your take on fashion as identification? Welcome to a civilization based on specialization?
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Sensible as in "wise and prudent?" Or were you going for a word more like "palpable?" I'm honestly confused -- the second option makes a lot more sense, though.
Personally, I like to wear a suit and tie. It makes me feel different than when I'm lounging around in simply a collared shirt and it is a good different. I wish I had a job where doing that wouldn't make me look like a freak but c'est le vie.
I understand this, as long as the office in which you work actually has investors or clients as visitors. Not all workplaces do.
My company is extremely reasonable about dress codes. They're only strictly enforced when there is a scheduled client visit. The rest of the time, they're relatively relaxed. But I have heard of places that are unnecessarily uptight - why would, say, a remote call center require business casual?
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
When we are in front of customers we are required to dress nicely though since we just want to give off a more professional appearance and show respect to our customers.
Didn't say it wasn't applied foolishly, but regardless of the company or dress code or utility of one, there will always be some sort of uniform for work even if it is simply one caused by peer pressure.
Likewise here, though its usually dark jeans and a long sleave T-shirt mostly for me. You get gradually smarter as you go up ranks but you can hardly tell what someone is wearing under a lab coat. In the canteen you can really spot the various groups though - even when the scientists and site services people are both wearing everyday clothes there is a definite difference.
Ultimately what distinguishes what is more or less professional (besides ketchup stains)? That's sort of why I mention the subjective and time-variant nature of "professional".
I have a feeling it's as much about the employee's sense of self-image as it is about the image they project to their clients.
I'd argue it's about enforced conformity and control for the sake of control.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Hence the safety noose
The company I work for, though, has a pretty lax dress code for those in the office, because we don't get clients visiting on a regular basis, and none of them are actually local anyway, so it's not like they can just drop by without scheduling a visit. Management types pretty much stick with business casual or better, but the average employee wears pretty much whatever they want most days.
When a client, or potential client, is scheduled for a visit, though, everyone is expected to dress "nicely" which can mean anything from business casual on up for the average employee, and more formal business attire for the management types. For a couple of years we had polo shirts with the company logo on them that we were expected to wear on client visits, but I guess they gave up on that when they had a couple of years of high turnover rate. Potential clients, or clients we're trying to impress in some way, get a more "professional" look required than established clients with whom we have a good relationship.
Something that a lot of people don't seem to realize, though, is that dressing professionally helps get you into a mindset to ACT professionally. It's like a mental switch that gets flipped between "I'm at home lounging" and "I'm at work trying to be professional" which is why many businesses that don't actually have face-to-face interaction with the customer / client adopt them. I could theoretically work all day in my pajamas, for example, but I don't. I dress the exact same way I would if I were going to the office, because if I don't, I don't get as much done.
This is precisely what I'm talking about.
This is one of the reasons why new business complexes that look like a bunch of shitty houses with parking lots don't make any sense to me.
This is pretty much exactly how my office works. (The owner will often stop by in shorts and sandals or something)
We have to come to work in suits, they usually just save their suits in their offices until the days when they have to go to court.
A big part of my job is working with kindergarten and elementary school kids. We run around, roll around and mess about. I have to wear 'business attire', which is patently ridiculous.
I would love to wear scrubs to work. Much more appropriate
I've worked with some truly unprofessional people over the years... and it always seems to be in the places with a more lax dress code. I think that a strict dress code reinforces that work is for.. well.. work. When I put on my work clothes, I get into my work mindset, where I'm not there to socialize or listen to people talk about their weekend, or love life, or gossip, but to work.
If I go into a store or any other place of work, and I am met by staff members wearing casual clothes, especially if it is difficult to tell who is staff and who is customer.. I am uncomfortable. I generally do not believe they will be able to do the job in a suitably professional and competent manner and would certainly not invest a large amount of money in something like a website, or whatever else I might be getting from them, if I knew they were having beers in the office and playing games in the office.
Although it might be messy... its called an image of authority.. the clothing you have to wear makes you appear strict and in charge, which is vitally important with children.. I know when I was at school I didn't used to respect the authority of the teachers who dressed more casually.. one look at a teacher in a fancy suit and I knew I had to obey or I'd get in trouble.
It's business casual but most people prefer to dress professionally because it does get you into the mindset for work/business.
"I am here to do a job and do it well, I should dress the part"
Plus, like someone else mentioned, the ladies love it.
I completely agree. Though that seems to apply a little less in the scientific community. I went to SIGGRAPH this year, and most of the presenters were wearing t-shirts and jeans-esque attire, and no one thought the worse of them for it. I certainly noticed it a lot less than I normally do. Before we went, I had actually told my boyfriend that he should wear a button-down shirt and slacks for his presentation, because I thought that projecting a professional image would make people more incline to pay attention to what you say. But yeah, not only did other people not care, I realized that I didn't care either. And I have kind of a love-hate relationship with the lack of a dress code in academia. I love that they don't have stupid safety regulations that force me to wear jeans and sneakers when I'd rather be wearing a skirt and flip flops because it's fucking 100 degrees today! I hate that so many people look like slobs both in and out of lab, because I enjoy looking nice, and I wish that more people would look nice so I wouldn't be so overdressed all the time.
http://newnations.bandcamp.com
This is exactly why at my company we kick clients out like this. They have no sense of team work, no sense of us and we would feel better not working with them. We work, we play and sitck in the muds like this would would potentially complain all the damn time are not worth spending our time on. We still roll in profits, but we turn away clients who have views like this guy.
Or they had a bad experience with someone/needed to make a more general proclamation to get rid of camel toe without pointing fingers/etc.
I'm more disaffected by places with a dress 'code' that promotes casual dress over professional dress. The googleplex supposedly has this sort of thing. It just seems hypocritical to use things like it to reinforce a 'relaxed' attitude.
Fair enough, I'm sure there are clients who feel more comfortable in the presence of people who dress casually at work.. not my place to say. I find it interesting however that you automatically assume that someone who likes people to dress and act professionally has no sense of team work.. the rest of it, sure, I probably wouldn't appreciate it.. but why do you assume that someone who doesn't agree with you can't work as part of a team? I've always found uniforms or professional dress to be conductive to team work, since everyone there has the fact that they are a team reinforced by it.
One thing I am curious about is what kind of work your company does.. some businesses I would imagine are more relaxed.. for example I know that many video games companies have far more relaxed dress codes if any.
However, I dress well for work because I'm aware of the effect it has on other people. I'm a trainer, so people expect a certain level of competence. If I walk into a room in a suit and tie then talk confidently, people have already made their mind up as to whether I'm qualified to teach them (before I've even done anything). Is it right? Maybe not. Does it work? definitely.
In fact - I used to train a lot with the NHS. (Hospitals, for those outside the UK) When I was training I would wear a suit, tie, and in the winter a dress coat. Now, I'm a young(ish) guy, 24 at the time. I have short "trendy" hair and actually always get mistaken for being younger... Just because of the way I dressed, I used to regularly have people walk up to me and ask if I was a doctor. I was also never asked for ID when in restricted areas. I've also worn jeans and a t-shirt around hospitals, and wask constantly asked "excuse me, can see your ID please?"
I'm of the personal opinion that it has no bearing on my eligibility for the job, professionalism or productivity. But it would be stupid of me to not understand the effect it has on the people I need to influence.
My company is just following suit.
bet no-one noticed that pun there
Team work can be gotten by you know, building bonds with people, caring about the welfare of your team mates etc, or does it really matter, according to you, that they wear the fanicest of the fanicest clothes and if they don't wear it, then they are no good?
I work in a financial market with mostly Asian Markets. I am a Business Analyst and we get sent all over the world. I haven't but many others have since its just been 1 year at my job. Recently a co-worker was sent over to Japan to work with another company. He took casual clothes at his normal job and when in meetings he had a dress shirt and tie along with his khakis or courdroys or whatever. Here we are allow to wear relaxed clothes for my department and we work with many different people. Our team work is stronger than before.
On the other hand, tattoos are perfectly acceptable and almost everyone in the office has at least one. (I don't, because I don't like the thought of the needles.) But they're mostly tattoos of fairies and flowers and baby footprints, things like that. I'm guessing they might not be so pleased if people got flaming skulls or something.