PA News
Formal business wear is key to promotion says UK workers
- 51% believe that dressing smartly helps win promotions
- 87% wear suits for Interviews
- Jeans and comedy ties are banned from majority of work places
It seems that Richard Branson's ban on his employees at Virgin from wearing jeans is not unusual. According to a Reed Employment survey of 3200 office workers registered on the www.reed.co.uk database, jeans and comedy ties are banned from the majority of offices, with 47% of workers wearing smart casual business wear to work every day and 40% wearing formal office attire such as suits. What's more, the majority of people questioned felt that dressing smartly will advance their careers, with 51% believing it will help them win a promotion.
Office workers seem to like their work uniforms believing it creates a separation from their office and home lives (37%), whilst 37% stated that they feel proud to wear a uniform as it represents their company's brand image. Only 16% stated they are unaffected by what they wear to work and just 1% stated they felt uncomfortable in their work clothing. We are not a rebellious lot either – 90% of respondents stated that they strictly adhere to their work dress codes every day.
85% feel that in today's office environment having a dress code is still highly relevant; 87% would always wear a suit to an interview and 62% also believe that wearing a suit is important to create the right impression on the first day at a new job.
However, some casual elements have crept into work dress codes – wearing a tie is no longer the norm in most offices, with 61% of men stating they never wear ties, 20% wear a tie only for business meetings, with only 19% wearing one every day. On the other hand comedy ties, together with jeans, short skirts, flip-flops, trainers and sportswear are deemed unacceptable by the majority of businesses.
‘Dress Down Fridays' are still quite popular and a third of respondents claimed that their company had a policy in place to allow more casual business wear on Fridays.
Catherine Maskell, Brand Manager at Reed Employment, head of network marketing at Reed stated, “The old adage ‘dress for success' clearly rings true, with the majority of office workers happily embracing their company's dress code and feeling proud to represent their brand. It is however, surprising that so many people feel that wearing smart office attire is still highly relevant in today's business climate and that it is key to advancing their careers.”