INTHEBLACK February 2023 - Magazine - Page 36
F E AT U R E
“Wearing a suit won’t help your ambitions if it
doesn’t fit with the culture of the office, and
wearing a shirt won’t help if you don’t iron it.”
DAVID CAWLEY, HAYS
“I was having this very conversation
with the CEO of a reasonably conservative
organisation recently,” says Rebecca
Houghton, CEO of BoldHR.
“I suggested that her leadership team
needed to talk about office attire, because
workers were returning to the office and hadn’t
worn a suit in nearly three years, and they
certainly weren’t wearing one for every Zoom
or Teams conversation that they were having.
“It’s understandable that people would
question what they wear when they come
back to the office. Can you insist that they
put it back on after all that time?”
Houghton adds that many workers from
older generations are still attached to the “power
dressing” that was common at the start of their
36 INTHEBLACK February 2023
career. “Even the colour of a man’s tie is thought
to signal authority,” Houghton says.
When Szalay entered the accounting
workforce in 1999, he couldn’t wait to put on
a suit and tie.
“I was quite excited to join the workforce
in a suit,” he says. “I thought that was one
of the things that showed that you were
a professional.”
Gen Z workers have different expectations,
says Liew. “I feel that, for most people my
age, the priority is to focus on building our
capability and learning, so it’s great not to have
the pressure of a strict dress code,” she says.
Liew’s employer, Loob Holding, is the
creator of the Tealive bubble tea brand.
She says the office has a casual “start-up”
environment, which is reflected in the
dress code.
“A T-shirt and jeans are fine,” she says.
SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT
WHAT YOU WEAR?
Does the casual approach to the
workplace “look” influence perceptions of
professionalism and career progression?
David Cawley, senior director
of recruitment and workforce solutions
specialists Hays, says employers still want
employees who present a professional image