Every morning when employees are getting ready for work, they ask themselves one simple question, “What should I wear to work today?” For some employees, that can be an easy answer; and for others, it may not be as simple. It is an easy answer for those who wear a uniform or a have a clearly spelled out dress code policy. Others may choose to work outside of the policy or just not realize the negative impact their clothing choice may have on those who work around them.
When employees decide to wear clothing outside of the traditional business or casual business options and make another choice, managers have the responsibility to rectify the problem and maintain an environment that is conducive to the productivity of all employees.
Manager Responsibilities
- Immediately address the inappropriate dress
- Send the person home to change if the article of clothing is offensive or inappropriate
- Be sensitive to the person wearing the inappropriate clothing as they may not be aware
- Be consistent when determining inappropriate clothing
- Get the opinions of other managers if the appropriateness falls into a gray area
- Contact Human Resources if the attire is questionable
- Be aware that other employees are observing how management resolves the issue
Employees have responsibilities as well. They should consider the impact of their attire on their coworkers and the workplace environment.
Employee Responsibilities
- Do not assume that clothing which can be worn out in the evening is work appropriate
- Be conscious of what others are wearing in the office
- Go home and change if necessary
- If in doubt, ask the manager
- Being conservative is the best approach when choosing work attire
- Understand the impact inappropriate dress has on co-workers
If the inappropriate dress is not resolved with the offending employee, other employees have the opportunity to claim hostile work environment or managerial negligence. This can lead to additional headaches for the manager to resolve. In the long run, a manager runs the risk of losing credibility with the rest of the employee base if something as simple as a dress code violation is not addressed.
Managers cannot let a poor situation escalate out of control. Dress code violations are one of the easiest human resource issues to address. Managers need to take the time to address the issue, educate employees on proper dress attire for the business environment in which they work, and move on to other pressing issues. Addressing dress code violations will keep morale high and the non-offending employees in a productive mood.
Jennifer Streeter - For the past twenty years, author and executive coach Jennifer Streeter has been managing, coaching, and leading employees in a variety of ...
