Lucy Kellaway in the FT, is convinced, like me, that to survive this recession we need to smarten up our appearance. She recalls that two years ago HR mangers attending a conference in London, dressed casually. This year, at the same conference, everyone was wearing a a suit and tie. HR people being "on the front line of the jobs market" know when it's time to smarten up. If they are wearing suits, then it's time everyone else did the same.
Christine Binkley writing in the Wall Street Journal notes that
That's what's changed. People don't feel entitled to dress casually anymore because they don't feel entitled to a job anymore. They can't take anything for granted. Dressing smarter helps raise your profile, and if that doesn't work, looking smarter should help when it comes to looking for another job, should it come to that.
For men and women, wearing a suit is so much simpler, less stressful and far easier to manage than the daily conundrum of what level of informality you want to achieve that day. It is also empowering. One US lawyer even says that without a suit
But let's not forget that looking good helps us feel good. A newly appointed senior manager has just introduced "High Heels Friday" in an attempt to cheer up her team by encouraging them to dress up.
Looks like the winning strategy is to smarten up and buckle down on both sides of the pond. It's time to shine!
"Casual clothing has long been seen as a sign of a modern attitude."She remembers writing a column in 2007 in which a number of young lawyers defended working in Ugg boots, jeans and clingy T-shirts, arguing that they needed to be comforable at work. They felt entitled.
That's what's changed. People don't feel entitled to dress casually anymore because they don't feel entitled to a job anymore. They can't take anything for granted. Dressing smarter helps raise your profile, and if that doesn't work, looking smarter should help when it comes to looking for another job, should it come to that.
For men and women, wearing a suit is so much simpler, less stressful and far easier to manage than the daily conundrum of what level of informality you want to achieve that day. It is also empowering. One US lawyer even says that without a suit
"I would feel like a football player who ran out of the field without his shoulder pads"There are huge benefits to keeping your casual clothes for home. Does anyone remember that wonderful feeling when you came home from school and changed out of your school uniform? I do. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a casual top was a sign that it was time to relax, to feel at home. These days there is such a blurring of work and home that we can find it difficult to switch off. Changing out of our work clothes can help reduce that stress.
But let's not forget that looking good helps us feel good. A newly appointed senior manager has just introduced "High Heels Friday" in an attempt to cheer up her team by encouraging them to dress up.
Looks like the winning strategy is to smarten up and buckle down on both sides of the pond. It's time to shine!
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3 comments:
I agree. It is always good to feel smart at work. You never know what will happen during a day and there is nothing worse than sitting in a meeting feeling under dressed.
I agree. It is important to feel smart at work. You never know what will happen during the day and there is nothing worse than sitting in a meeting feeling under dressed.
Absolutely right. The key is to feel properly dressed and ready for anything.
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