Ask HR: Does my boss have any authority over how I choose to dress at work?
What you need to know:
- Consider raising your grievances with your HR colleagues. It is important to be specific about what needs to be adjusted or changed concerning the new dress code.
- Are you able to raise the issue directly with the MD? Seek to understand the thinking behind her memo. Indicate what you find excessive or unfair in the new dressing requirements.
- Unless she took a drastic measure, it is unlikely that it requires everyone to overhaul their wardrobes in order to adhere to the new guidelines.
Our MD has issued a memo discouraging certain dress styles at work. She said that working from home has made employees comfortable wearing anything they like which is not good for the company. Should a company tell me what to wear?
Dressing communicates a message. A dress code is often part of an organisation’s attempt to ensure that its employees project an image consistent with its aspired or existing brand. Even in cases where an organisation does not have an expressly stated dress code, there is still the expectation that employees will not cast their employer in poor light through unbridled choice of dress at the workplace. Whatever noble intentions on the part of an organisation in developing a dress code policy, respect for diversity and room for personal choice remain important considerations. The room for personal choice usually depends on the cultural tone of an organisation.
What kind of dressing has your MD discouraged? Which employee constituency has the memo most adversely affected? Are you one of the aggrieved parties? What event triggered such response from your MD? Did some colleagues take unwelcome liberties with the choice of their dressing? Had your HR team been involved in crafting the said memo? Were colleagues dressing differently before working from home? Do you reckon the pandemic has altered employee notions of dress that is suitable for the office? Do you think that your MD overreacted?
You can expect her to raise concern if, for instance, she is unable to distinguish between colleagues dressed for the office and people poised for a PE lesson. Consider raising your grievances with your HR colleagues. It is important to be specific about what needs to be adjusted or changed concerning the new dress code. Are you able to raise the issue directly with the MD? Seek to understand the thinking behind her memo. Indicate what you find excessive or unfair in the new dressing requirements. Unless she took a drastic measure, it is unlikely that it requires everyone to overhaul their wardrobes in order to adhere to the new guidelines. Pandemics or seasons do not forge ideas about what is decent or professional, people do.
HR Practitioner
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