Seemingly a faux pas for
business dress: tight short skirts, cleavage-showing tops, ragged jeans and flip- flops. But in
today''s casual workplace, appropriate attire may not be so apparent.Casually dressed
workers may be risking career success for the privilege of being comfortable, according to two recent surveys. How employees dress at work directly affects their prospects for a promotion, according to a survey of workers and human resource professionals by Yahoo HotJobs and Banana Republic. At the same time, 61 per cent of workers admit they either do not know or do not care about their company dress code.Another survey, by TheLadders.com, a site that features $100,000-plus salary jobs, looked at executives'' attitudes about dress codes. The survey found that while employees who dress casually are perceived to be more creative and more fun, they also run the risk of being taken less seriously."It''s a shame," says
business consultant, Luis Mago, of what he thinks is too casual business attire in South Florida. Mago, who wears a dark suit, white shirt and tie when working, attributes the casual attire to today''s workplace culture.Employers have lost focus on what business is," Mago says. "They want to give employees perks, to work at home, to feel relaxed.The purpose of business is to make money We are not there to be relaxed." South Florida workers do have a business-dress challenge. Outside it''s hot, especially in September, but inside air conditioning often makes it too cool. Can workers be fashionable, comfortable and business like?People need to understand business casual. You cannot wear what you wear to the gym," says Tom Musbach, Managing Editor, Yahoo HotJobs. Companies often have dress codes, but do not communicate them well, he says. Pay attention to what your boss wears; that is a good guideline, Musbach says.Even in a casual workplace, it is a good idea for employees to keep a nice pair of shoes and a blazer in their cubicles, to be prepared for a high-level meeting, he suggests. Andre West, Chairman of design at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, advises employees to "dress for the environment you are in.Workers "have to look at themselves in the mirror and see how they fit in that group. ''Is my skirt the right length? Is my tie the right width?'' Most of all, make sure clothes fit well, he says. "Too tight or too loose, that is a problem." Another pet peeve of his: no cell phones clipped to a man''s waist, unless it''s the necessary BlackBerry.Bobbi Engelke, a litigation paralegal at the Boca Raton law office of Adorno & Yoss, considers herself a stylish dresser, but tones down her look for work. "I do not want to give someone the wrong impression," says Engelke, who usually dons a pant suit or other professional dress for the office. But even on "casual day", she says, "you can dress casually and still be stylish and professional.Still, some workers go to extremes in casual dress and employers sometimes take action. She recalls with a laugh her former employer that sent an e-mail to women banning thong underwear in the office. "Now they are going to tell me what kind of underwear I can wear?" she asks.Mago, a former military man, created his own dress code. Even in the heat of the summer, he wears suits: grey for a board meeting and black for a speaking engagement. Black fades in a dark room, he says. "If you are lecturing, you do not want your clothes to be the centre of attention.And it is best, he says, to always be ready for an unexpected meeting with the CEO. "Let''s assume you are in a business meeting with a client and all of a sudden the President of the company walks in and you are wearing shorts. You are not going to get that business," Mago says.