Business Casual Is Dead. Why Your Company’s Dress Policy Needs to GO!

Let’s be honest, business formal and business casual are dead! Gone are the days of the three-piece suits, the button up shirts, the ties, the blazers, and thank goodness, the khakis. 

In this blog, I will be talking about the five reasons why it’s important to destroy your company’s archaic and antiquated dress policy. If you stick around to the end, I will give you some tips on how to implement your new policy quickly.

If you’re new to this blog, my name is Timber, and I am a disruptive, forward thinker, who is challenging the established ways of doing business. The traditional model is dead and it’s time to forget every metric you know. 

Let’s get started! Here are the five reasons why business formal and business casual dress codes are dead.

Number one - No one can agree on what business casual is, or is not. We all pretty much know business formal - three piece suit or tailored dresses, button up shirt and tie, fancy belt and shoes. However, when it comes to business casual, does it include polos, or short sleeved shirts, or shorter skirts, capris, clogs, open-toed shoes, sweaters? What is the definitive for business casual? The actual description varies from company to company and region to region. It also varies from supervisor to supervisor. The term, “business casual,” is very subjective.

Number two - It’s expensive. The average dress shirt costs between $40 and $80, and likely, that’s if you catch it on sale. Buy five of them, and you’ve already hit, at least, $200. And this doesn’t even go into detail about other articles or gender marketed clothing. Most of us have three categories of clothing in out closets - Formal, business casual or work wear, and normal, everyday wear. Imagine having to flesh out three different wardrobes. To further the conversation of cost, on average, to take clothing to a dry cleaner, it will cost about $5 per shirt. That’s about $25 per week, on shirts alone, or $1250 per year. Even if you have washable clothing and choose to do it yourself at home, it still costs money. Which brings me to…

Number 3 - It takes too much time! Shopping and caring for business clothing takes up precious amounts of time. Laundering, ironing, starching (if you do that) can take up to a few hours per week. It also takes time to decide what to wear for the day, and to properly put on and adjust the clothing - tying ties, buttoning shirts, adding belts, etc. 

Number 4 - It’s stressful. Imagine being a new employee, and needing to take the time and money to shop for clothing they may not already have. Add that to the fact that they are already in a major transition, and it compounds the stress. We also know that regularly having to make clothing decisions can lead to decision fatigue. Wouldn’t you rather have your employees making good decisions at work?

And number 5 - Business formal, or business casual promotes a false sense of authority, honesty and worthiness. It is a learned idea that a person in fancy clothing somehow has more intelligence or a higher level of professionalism than a person in a neat t-shirt and jeans. Remember that professionalism is an attitude and demeanor, not an appearance. Besides, how many times have we been screwed by the guys in suits? I’ve often heard that wearing your best is a sign of respect. It’s not. It’s simply a show. The things that ARE signs of respect are being present, honest, attentive, and hard-working. Yes, cleanliness is important, but being perfumed and bejeweled are not.

As a bonus, number 6! Business formal and business casual can be classist, elitist, and discriminatory. I felt this was extremely important to share. Often times, business casual clothes are gendered for the binary - men’s and women’s clothing. Since it is now becoming increasingly obvious that gender is a spectrum, “dressing in a professional manner” can end up being discriminatory, especially if left to the discretion of the supervising staff. Let’s take it one step further, and talk about people with disabilities. Sometimes, particular kinds of clothing can be very restrictive or limiting, or downright unwearable for people with disabilities. If we want to be truly inclusive and equitable, rather than creating a “reasonable accommodation,” why don’t we just eliminate the need for it?

So now that we’ve discussed six reasons why business casual is dead, let’s talk about how you can overhaul your dress code quickly, and completely. 

First, do it now. Throw out the entire policy and start from scratch. Don’t waste time trying to amend it, or justifying certain parts of it. Just start it fresh and new. 

Second, tell all of your employees that you are revising the dress policy, and when it will be implemented. Ask them for their ideas on what it should contain. Give them a deadline for submission. Really listen to what they have to say. For example, announce on a Monday that the policy will be changed. Let them know that the deadline for submission is Friday at end of business. The policy will be re-written the following week, and the final version will be released on that Friday, so they will have all weekend to prepare for the following Monday. This will set your policy out in less than two weeks. Don’t take too long, and do what you say you will do.

Third, if there are specific safety reasons for certain kinds of clothing because of machinery, chemicals, or anything OSHA-related, remind your staff of those. They are non-negotiable. 

Fourth, set the example. On the very day that the new policy is to go into effect, dress yourself to the absolute bare minimum of what is considered acceptable under the new dress code. And do this for the next two weeks. Throw out all of your preconceived notions and prior habits. Learn what it really feels like to work while wearing the new standard. Then follow ask people what they think and how they feel, from the senior staff to the janitor.

If you would like to book me to consult for your business on dress code, any other policies, or changing corporate culture, you can e-mail me at tweigelvenard@gmail.com

Now, go forth and destroy your old dress code and bury business casual where it belongs!