Workplaces are getting more relaxed, but it's still best to dress to impress.
Photo / Thinkstock
Workplaces are getting more relaxed, but it's still best to dress to impress.
Photo / Thinkstock
Dress codes are easing up in most New Zealand workplaces, but that's not an excuse to sport ripped jeans and jandals, warns recruitment expert, Jane Kennelly.
Ms Kennelly, director at Frog Recruitment, said the trend towards more casual workwear reflected a broader shift in most workplace relations. Employers want to show they trust employees with greater freedom.
"There's a higher degree of trust and that extends to actually managing and coaching and working with people as opposed to telling them what to do," Ms Kennelly told NZME.
"It's that transfer from command and control to actually allowing people to think for themselves."
Her comments come after American retail giant, Wal-Mart, announced a looser dress code for retail employees, allowing them to wear denim pants and in some cases, T-shirts.
Retail giant Wal-Mart have relaxed their dress code.
Photo / AP
Liz Dunn, founder of US retail consultancy Talmage Advisors, said the change was "related, at its core, to changing consumer impressions of what a professional person looks like.
"People don't have as many hangups as they used to about tattoos or beards or different religions. There are changing consumer norms, and that's being reflected."
Retail consultant Neil Stern said that as the economy improves and the job market heats up, more employers are looking for ways to keep their employees from jumping ship for other jobs.
He also said more companies are relaxing policies to cater to millennial-age employees. While the struggle between young people and dress codes may seem like a long-running phenomenon, the size of this generation, as well as their much-researched desire to work for companies that align with their values, has many businesses rethinking their policies.
"If you don't allow them to have some freedom, they're not going to work for you," he told The Washington Post.
Management could also save money if they didn't have to provide uniforms, Ms Kennelly said.
"I have seen less and less uniforms in the retail space over the years... I partly put that down to cost cutting."
New Zealand people are becoming more open-minded, also backing the changes. For instance, tattoos, once taboo, are now acceptable.
"In the last five years we have not had any one of our employers say they would not employ someone with tattoos, it just has not come up," Ms Kennelly said.
Jane Kennelly director at Frog Recruitment.
However, workers must remember to look sharp and well groomed if they want to get ahead.
"In order to be taken seriously there's a degree of conformity that happens, whether you like it or not," Ms Kennelly said.
"Once you've earned the stripes, you can then redefine how you might appear to the world, but [that] takes time."
While the idea of "what a professional looks like" may have expanded, there are still basic codes of conduct that should be followed.
Employees should avoid wearing anything too shabby, like ripped jeans or jandals, or too revealing, like short shorts or exposed bra straps.
Last month, an Australian government department has issued an official dress code to public servants, ordering them to stop turning up in "onesies, ugg boots and thongs".
"There are just some things that clearly are not appropriate," Ms Kenneally said.
Dos and don'ts or workplace attire
Do's and Don'ts:
Do wear a suit to a job interview. "That has never gone out of fashion."
Do wear a jacket in formal situations. "Adding a jacket can transform an outfit."
