Women are making a mark in workplaces all over the world, yet selecting something to wear to business dinners, corporate events, meetings or even to the office is a major challenge. And this is where we come to the tricky subject of business dress codes
Whether you work in an office, warehouse or high-street establishment, it’s likely that your organisation has business dress codes of some kind. There are typically three types of dress code – business formal, business casual and casual. These are set out by companies and are often detailed in an employee’s contract and handbook.
Essentially, a dress code is a set of standards that a business uses to help provide employees with guidance about what is and isn’t appropriate to wear to work. The one an organisation chooses will heavily depend on the needs of the workplace and the customers it serves.
Why businesses dress codes work
There are a number of reasons that companies have or introduce business dress codes…
1. Reflects a company’s values
If the company you work for has very formal values or compamy culture, it’s likely that you’ll have more of a formal dress code. It’s important that the dress code reflects a business perfectly as clients and customers will be able to get more of a feel for the business.
2. Stay presentable for clients
If you’re regularly seeing clients for meetings and presentations, it’s likely you’ll need to be dressed smartly just as often. By having a dress code in place, employees will know what to wear and what’s expected of them when they’re client facing. This could only apply when employees know they have meetings, and outside of these times a business may have more of a casual approach.
3. Creates a harmonious workplace
There’s nothing worse than being made to feel like the clothes you’re wearing aren’t good enough when you walk into the office. By having a dress code in place you can stop any bias among employees. There are so many options available where women’s tops are concerned, that when combined with a blazer or jacket, could easily fit any dress code!
Why mixing and matching might benefit your business
If you work in a warehouse or in a retail establishment, it’s likely that your work clothes may strictly be a uniform. If you’re office based, your business may benefit from being flexible where work clothes are concerned.
Whether you’re a tech start-up or established business, you may find that having a business casual or casual dress code for the majority of your working days will go down well with your employees, making it much easier to say that for client meetings, they much wear more formal attire.
Why not have an open discussion with those who work for you, be those team members or management, and get an idea as to what each department thinks will work best. After all, you’ll want to strive to create a good business culture.
