No doubt your workplace has a set dress code as to what’s appropriate to wear to work or not. The code is usually defined by what interaction the employee has with a client or a customer. Some have a uniform which has to be worn while others have a suit and tie for the guys and appropriate business wear for the girls. Whatever the code is, you need to know what it is and be part of the enforcement process. The company would have spent a lot of time and money so the appropriate image can be projected by their staff.
In just about all the places I have worked over the years, there was always a strict dress code in place weather I liked it or not. Some of the uniforms were shockers!! In one place, the uniform for the guys was a denim shirt with the company logo on it and black cargo type pants. For the girls it was the same shirt and a black skirt. They looked absolutely ridiculous in them I thought but, for the time being, it was part of my job to make sure they wore them. I fought long and hard to get them to change it and after a long battle, they did.
Even if there is no uniform as such, you have to keep an eye on what your staff are wearing and make sure it’s appropriate. With guys, the worst thing I had to tell one is to go home and get his tie and told him to make sure he wears it for every appointment but unfortunately, without being biased or anything, it’s usually the female staff that gave me the most trouble with this issue. Two instances pop into mind straight away as I’m writing this. One was a young lady who started with us when she was about 19. She was very pleasant and everything but she had a habit of wearing very tight tops that exposed a lot of cleavage.
Nothing wrong with a little cleavage you say and I agree, but when you can park your bicycle between them, then there’s a problem. She became a total distraction at the office. Guys would drop their pens on purpose and asked her to pick it up for them just so they can get a good look. When I realized what was going on, I had to tell her to dress a little less revealing. Another incident was a little worse. It actually offended some people. A sales woman we had who was in her forties came into the office one day to pick up some mobile phones to sell that day. When I saw her, I was dumbfounded. She literally looked like that woman from the “Drew Carey” show. She was wearing dark blue eye shadow, dark red lipstick, way too much blush on her cheeks and messy blond hair. The outfit she had on was like something that a retired prostitute who’s staging a comeback would wear. The skirt was so short that if she put her hand in the air and waved at someone, you would see everything! I had never seen anything like it.
The whole office stopped and went very quiet. I was taking a sip of coffee when I saw her through the glass walls. You can imagine where the coffee went. I called her into the office straight away and told her in no uncertain terms to go home and change. She could see nothing wrong with what she had on and argued till she was blue in the face. I’m all for freedom of dress and all that but when you are at work, the company has every right to say what’s appropriate or not. Your staff is representing the company. Can you imagine what sort of business her clients would have thought she was working for? Not a telecommunications one I’m sure! In the end though, she got the boot for many other things she did that weren’t in line with company policies.
