Linde

Kevin Linde
Tereasa Gilmore
BU 102
29 November 2014
Week 6: Business Argument Essay
Business Casual Dress: The impact of dressing down in the workplace hinders personal
growth and progression.
Society likes rules and guidelines to help navigate our world and provide the
security of knowing what is expected and how to operate within those guidelines. Businesses
create mission statements and codes of conduct to try to get their workforce to deliver their
products or services to a marketplace at a defined standard. Workplace attire is a constant
discussion point as to whether a professional or casual dress sets the right tone for employee
performance and expectations. The question becomes, if the clothes make the man, does the
man become the clothes? The impact of going business casual has more of an effect on
employee perceptions than their performance in the job.
Defining what is appropriate when in the workplace is a constantly evolving topic which
includes many things such as appropriate behavior, etiquette and attire. As the worlds
workplaces have evolved over time, businesses have always determined what is appropriate or
not based on current societal views of acceptability and what has been determined as a target
code of conduct based on business needs and customer demands. Back in the feudal times,
farming and iron masonry was the majority of business that was occurring at the time.
Employees wore clothing suited to their protection and comfort while performing manual labor.
As we entered the industrial evolution and a more concentrated population began to work

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together to manufacture items for public consumption, workplace conduct and attire evolved for
the traditional blue collar workers into comfort and protection while a new form of business
aristocrat was established based on personal success. The dress code for the new business
tycoons and their leadership teams evolved into trying to separate themselves from the masses
and acceptable attire was used as a way to distinguish themselves from the laborers who
worked in the factories. This continued for many years adapting to the current trends in dress
until the shape of the workforce began to change.
The middle of the 20th century saw many changes in the makeup of the workforce and
the type of businesses that existed. With the onset of World War II, many women went to work
in factories supporting the war efforts due to labor shortages. Society continued to evolve and
the lines between traditional blue collar and white collar jobs started to blur and typical
workplace dress started to change more. This shift continued as a more diverse workforce
became integrated into daily life with customer demands evolving along with them. By the early
1980s, the after effect of a stock market crash and a shift towards more technology oriented
growth saw a major change in attitudes towards dress in the workplace. According to Thomas
Kidde, people have a variety of opinions about the origins of business casual attire (Kidde 351)
but everyone can usually agree the trend occurred to a more casual workplace dress during this
time frame. This could include anything to adopting an unwritten business casual at all times to
just Friday dress down days once per week.
With limited guidance initially, workers were left to figure out what business casual dress
was and how it should be interpreted. Business casual is usually defined by denoting a style of
clothing that is less formal than traditional business wear (suits, dress skirts), but is still intended
to give a professional and businesslike impression. This vague description would normally
mean men would leave behind the jacket and ties and women could safely emerge without
pantyhose and jackets but the early guidance was minimal. By the year 2000, people continued

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to push the envelope of what is business casual as more companies embraced the trend. This
caused a lot of businesses to have to define what is considered business casual and these rules
varied from organization to organization. The one consistent theme that was ever-present
through this evolution was people would judge your workplace suitability and performance
based upon the package that was presented at the workplace.
Even though business casual and even casual dress has gained more acceptance as a
standard in todays workplace, the one thing that is consistent for those looking to move up in
their careers is that the potential candidate needs to impress their bosses and potential decision
makers for career growth. This positive impression for internal employees is built upon
performance in current role, interaction with others at the workplace, overall business
contribution and presentation of themselves as a serious candidate. Kidde advises his students
on what to wear on a job hunt but encourages them to research company culture on dress code
to ensure they find the correct fit for them (Kidde 353). Many counsellors or recruiters offer
career advice in the same vein and define looking your best as a key component for success
The way we look has a major impact on the impression people form of us. Research indicates
that within the first moments of meeting, an individual can form up to 30 distinct opinions about
you (Cousins 1).
Getting in the door to work for a company can be daunting, but while you are working at
a company, most advise you to dress for the position you may want down the line. Images are
created of employees constantly and at no point should any concerns about your professional
image be in consideration for potential advancement. Even though companies offer business
casual dress, people will review and judge the entire body of work including that image. Falconi
shares a negative viewpoint of a manager who encourages his team to ignore the business
casual dress and always dress appropriately for the workplace. He shares his thoughts that
people would view those who embrace business casual as a way to ensure that you never

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move up (If You Want to Move Up, Dont Dress Down 13-14). This perception of dress may be
considered extreme but it does reflect that peoples attitude towards what is considered
appropriate dress can be quite strong for some managers. If a person competing with other
internal candidates has a similar resume, background and experience and suitability for a role,
the hiring managers tend to look for what would be considered tie breakers to determine who
would get the position. Appearance and desire expressed for the job are usually key items for
consideration.
Businesses have seen many benefits delivered to their employees by embracing
business casual dress. These benefits tend to be around the comfort and costs saving potential
for employees as well as developing a fun work atmosphere. Does adhering to the business
casual dress mean that someone will never get promoted? The answer is no but it does create
a potential stumbling block for those who may view it negatively. In the workplace, peoples
performance and suitability are measured constantly by those observing others in the
workplace. Creating a potential obstacle for personal growth such as dress code is in the total
control of the person who chooses to go to work in appropriate attire. Creating a potential
negative reflection for those who may one day offer career advancement is never advisable.

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Works Cited
Kiddie, Thomas. Recent Trends in Business Casual Attire and Their Effects On Student
Job Seekers. Business Communication Quarterly Vol. 72 Issue 3 (2009): Pages 350-354.
Business Source Premier. Web. November 13, 2014
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.bakeru.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fffecca3-90b34c3f-b2d0-a5baf385bcf7%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=109.
Falconi, Robert R. If You Want to Move Up, Dont Dress Down. Financial Executive
Vol. 12 Issue 1 (1996): Pages 13-14. Business Source Premier. Web. November 13, 2014
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.bakeru.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c8e254dce61e-49be-855c-d401687f96fc%40sessionmgr110&vid=2&hid=109.
Couzins, Martin and Beagrie, Scott. How To.Project the Right Work Image.
Personnel Today (2004): Page 35. Business Source Premier. Web. November 14, 2014
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.bakeru.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?sid=f6ad00e3-f375-423abef4cee4b8fc49aa%40sessionmgr110&vid=3&hid=109&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%
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