Work culture has changed a lot over the period – some employees and companies too do not believe in having a designated dress code, and they believe in casual dressings. Agreed that it works well in creative work environments, but distinct and professional attire helps to maintain a professional image of the employees and the business. Employees with client-facing roles represent the company, and dressing too casually may set the wrong brand image.
Setting a specific dress code might send ripples among employees initially, but if the importance can be distinctly and vividly highlighted to them, they will also understand and reciprocate accordingly.
Benefits of professional attire
Brand Image
When your employees are in corporate uniforms, they are always ready to face the client! When sending out your best employees to meet your prospects, you don’t have to bother that he or she is not in proper dress code and cannot represent your company in front of outsiders.
Furthermore, each of your employees represents your company, and each one is a brand ambassador. So, what they wear and how they present themselves in-office hours speaks volumes about your business. When stakeholders see employees in proper dress code appropriate for the industry, they feel more confident in them and your business as a whole.
Workplace harmony
Each individual has a right to express himself through clothing – but the workplace is not the best place to do it! And workplaces can reserve the right of people on how they express themselves as it’s not about any individual, but the business overall.
It also mitigates the chances of discrimination based on look and presentation – when at the workplace, only the person’s work should speak and nothing else than that!
Moreover, it makes things easier for employees because as long as they stick to the dress code, they don’t have to bother if they dressed too casually or too formally.
Visual uniformity
Professionalism may vary from industry to industry – like a director of a manufacturing unit might look out of place in jeans and tees, a creative lead might not look comfortable in stiff collared shirt and tie.
The fact of the matter is from whichever industry you belong to; you can have a dress code for your business, which fits into your business’s values. And when everyone in the workplace is dressed according to the standards of the dress code, it not only creates an atmosphere of professionalism but also brings in visual uniformity. In turn, it helps your clients to identify employees and finely endorses the impression of being a part of a team amongst your workforce.
Avoid workplace hazard and PR disasters
When your workforce has a stated dress code, they will know what to wear and what not to. And this is very important when it comes to manufacturing units where the safety of employees is also crucial. For instance, if the workplace is a warehouse, then employees should ideally be wearing close-toed shoes or steel-toed boots. In the absence of stated guidelines, the workforce will take it to causally and may end up causing accidents, human resource hazards, and probable PR disasters too.
When there’s a mishap, the media will not blame the employees for their carelessness. But they will hold the company responsible for not taking proper care of the workforce.
Conclusion
Professional attire is not meant to make employees uncomfortable, and it can be as simple as specifying colors, or the length of the skirt or the type of shirt. They are available in different materials, and when you buy them from specific dealers, it also eases your job and brings in uniformity.