Why It’s Time to Change Your Company’s Dress Code

Why it’s time to change your company dress code

Your people are the lifeblood of your organization, so it’s crucial to consider them when making business decisions — especially decisions that directly impact them. If you’re enforcing an old-school dress code, it may be time to revisit the policy and ensure it still matches your business’s needs and your employees’ expectations.

Here are three reasons it may be time to evaluate and update your company dress code. 

1. Dress codes should accurately reflect a company’s culture and values.

Many employers have kept the same company dress code for years. Their policies may require some combination of formal business attire, no visible tattoos or piercings and no crazy hair colors or styles. While these stipulations may make sense for some businesses in fields like banking or law, they may no longer be relevant for many organizations.

Cultural standards have changed, making formal dress codes less relevant, especially in organizations that aren’t client- or customer-facing. As millennials and Gen Zers have taken over the workforce, ideas about how employees should dress in the workplace have also shifted. 

You want to create an environment that matches your business’s brand to help you attract the type of employees you’re seeking. If you notice your business’s dress code no longer aligns with your current company values and culture, it’s time to make a switch. [Related article: Managing Tips for a Multigenerational Workforce: From Baby Boomers to Gen Z]

2. The pandemic shifted employee expectations. 

Many companies created remote work plans during the pandemic and still support remote and hybrid work schedules as the workplace landscape has changed. These workplace trends have impacted many facets of business, including how employees dress. 

For many remote, hybrid and office workers, comfortable clothing is now a professional priority. While workplaces and industries differ and workers must balance comfort with professionalism, employers should recognize this trend. Note how your employees’ expectations have changed over time and adapt your dress code policy accordingly to meet business needs and workers’ preferences.

3. You may be losing out on highly skilled job candidates.

It’s easy to judge a book by its cover, but that’s not a great strategy if you want to hire the best job candidates. How someone looks or dresses doesn’t dictate their skill level or expertise. An unnecessarily strict dress code may prevent a group of talented job seekers from working for your company. 

An outdated dress code that makes staff feel they aren’t free to be themselves could also cause employees to quit and increase your turnover rate. If your employees don’t need to adhere to a strict dress code for safety, legal or customer- or client-facing reasons, it may be time to relax that dress code.

How to change your company’s dress code

If you’re interested in updating your company’s dress code, follow these steps.

1. Examine your competitors’ dress codes.

Competitor analysis plays a crucial role in keeping your business competitive with customers and employees. What do other businesses in your industry say about company attire? If you notice your current dress code requirements are making it challenging to keep staff, those employees might be favoring jobs at competing firms that permit a more flexible dress code. If you can, get a copy of your competitors’ dress codes to compare. Many company websites share that information publicly.

2. Consider safety issues when changing your dress code.

Certain industries require specific dress codes for safety reasons. For example, an employee working at a bank may be permitted to wear high heels. However, someone working in construction or manufacturing could be limited to wearing steel-toed boots for their safety. Consider various clothing, jewelry and hair options that may need to be limited or required to keep your employees safe in the workplace.

3. Decide what message you want to send to customers and clients.

If you have customer-facing staff, you may need to reevaluate what message you want to send to your clientele. Are you a relaxed tiki bar that offers a casual dining experience or a trendy, upscale boutique that sells expensive clothing? The former would likely have a more relaxed dress code, whereas the latter might prefer its employees to wear fashionable clothing to match its brand. 

Similarly, a business with a more serious tone, such as a bank or legal firm, would probably want its team to wear something formal, such as a suit, to exude professionalism. However, if the public doesn’t see your workers, weigh practical needs against employee comfort to find a middle ground.

4. Factor in your company culture.

A company dress code is a physical reflection of a business’s culture and values. If you want to create a fun environment and an employee-centric company culture where employees feel free to express themselves, allow a more casual dress code that permits them to do just that. On the other hand, if your company culture and values are more serious and professional, a more formal dress code could apply.  

5. Set realistic standards.

Although you may want to let your employees wear whatever they want, some rules should apply. You will still want to hold some standards, such as good hygiene and be rational with your policy to ensure it doesn’t offend anyone. For example, you could allow employees to have visible tattoos, but you may want to advise that tattoos with offensive slogans, graphics, sayings or wording should be covered.

6. Ensure your updated dress code is fair and respectful.

Be mindful of different cultures and avoid policies that may be interpreted as discriminatory. Some dress codes may conflict with religious requirements, disabilities or characteristics like height and weight. 

By instituting dress codes that mandate or prohibit certain garments or styles, you may be inadvertently running afoul of workplace anti-discrimination laws. Here are some examples: 

• Prohibiting hats and head coverings may discriminate against a devout Muslim employee. 
• It’s illegal to require women to wear skirts or dresses while men wear pants. 
• Regulations regarding hairstyles must consider different ethnicities’ hair textures and styles. 
• In some states, including California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington, workplace prohibition of certain hair styles used predominantly by Black men and women, such as locs, braids and twists, is illegal.

7. Allow some variation in how people present themselves.

People express themselves through their hairstyles, clothing, jewelry, shoes, makeup, tattoos and piercings. While you may want a uniform look, it’s a good idea to give your employees some leeway in how they present themselves. In your employee handbook, show employees with different looks who all comply with your dress code. This guidance will allow employees to express their unique personalities and still look appropriate for the workplace.

That said, some workplaces must enforce more uniformity than others. For example, a fine dining restaurant may require servers to wear black, non-slip closed shoes, black pants and a white shirt so they’re easily identifiable by patrons. An advertising agency, on the other hand, may encourage employees to unleash their creativity in their appearance.

8. Get employees involved in updating the dress code.

For maximum compliance and buy-in, get your employees involved in the process of revamping your dress code. Small companies can hold an employee meeting, while larger companies can create a representative employee task force.

9. Communicate your dress code clearly.

After revising your company’s dress code, take the following steps to ensure it’s communicated clearly:

• Announce the new, updated policy and share it companywide.
• Include the updated policy in your employee handbook and have employees sign acknowledgment forms.
• Discuss the new rules, including their reasons, with individual teams and answer any questions staffers may have. If they have any concerns or suggest exceptions, address them with an open mind.
• Be sure everyone is aware of the consequences of non-compliance.

The importance of company dress codes

Although some employees believe company dress codes are antiquated and pointless, your dress code policy may be a vital component of your company culture. A company dress code may be important for the following reasons: 

• A company dress code communicates your company’s culture: Staff members represent the face of your company, so their appearances can make an impression on customers and clients.
• A company dress code may be needed for safety or compliance: Some industries and organizations must follow specific dress codes for the sake of employee safety or legal compliance. For example, a doctor must wear a sterile gown and gloves while performing surgery. 
• A company dress code can create a professional environment: Some businesses enforce professional dress codes for customer-facing employees. However, even businesses that don’t deal with customers must consider appropriate dress for a professional environment. For example, offensive, overly revealing, dirty or ripped clothing may be banned in the office and during remote meetings. 

Jennifer Dublino contributed to this article.