Viewpoint: Dressing down - informal or plain scruffy?

Tuesday 24 July 2018

Every month in Connect magazine, ViewPoint puts forward a key question facing one of the island's main industry sectors - and then a group of leading practitioners give their take on the answer, and what it means for Jersey.

This month, they were asked to discuss whether the current trend for dressing down at work means we are becoming more informal and flexible, or just scruffy and slack.

Sue Lincoln, HR Director - Ogier

"At Ogier, we've had an informal dress policy for around three years. It was an important step for us because it was part of our rebrand, and bringing home to the firm that the new brand was about more than a logo and a new umbrella, it was about a different way of working and being a progressive firm.

"It helped that we had partners embrace it from the start; that showed confidence in the change. Without that, I don't think that everybody else would have found it as
comfortable, and it gave everyone a signal that people here were trusted to know what was appropriate.

"Obviously, our people are expected to dress appropriately for the day, so if you have client meetings, that would normally mean wearing more formal office attire - but we're professionals and our people understand that.

"The dress-down policy sent out a wider message to all of our people: that we don't accept the stereotype of a ‘typical lawyer’ and we believe that people's work, skills and attitude are more important than their suits or shoes. A Paul Smith suit might look great, but it doesn't make you a better lawyer, and that's what we're interested in.

"I don’t accept for one minute that there's anything "scuffy or slack" about a dress-down policy - you're more likely to find designer wear in the office now than when we had an old fashioned ‘suits and tie’ dress code."

Hannah Carolan, Account Director at The Partnership – Creative Communications

"In an ideal world, we would be able to wear whatever we want, wherever we work. That being said, I’m a firm believer in wearing clothes that make you feel your best, whilst commanding the respect you desire.

"For me as an Account Director at a creative agency, working largely with corporate clients, it’s not so much about dressing up or down, but being ‘flexi-dressed’. Flexi-dressing allows you to adapt your outfit to fit your day, and still look good and feel on top of things. After all, employees should know from their own experience when it is appropriate to wear a suit and when they can dress down, and employers should recognise that if they don’t trust their employees to dress appropriately for their clients, how can they trust them to deliver the right service?

"As millennials, like myself, are making up more and more of the workforce, we are rethinking what a healthy work-life balance looks like, and part of that equation is how we dress. When employees are able to express themselves freely, whether that means wearing a pair of Levi’s or a Hugo Boss suit, such freedom can boost morale, productivity and create stronger bonds between co-workers that enables everyone to get on with their jobs.

So, when you’re getting dressed tomorrow morning, just remember that work, is still, work. Express yourself and wear what will make you most confident - within reason!"