Hardly Anyone Dresses Up for Work Anymore

Dressing up for work continues to go out of style, new research from staffing firm OfficeTeam shows. Half of senior managers interviewed said employees wear less formal clothing than they did five years ago.

Only 17% reported employees dress more formally than five years ago.

In addition, the survey found nearly one-third (31%) of office workers stated they would prefer to be at a company with a business casual dress code; 27% favor a casual dress code or no dress code at all. Only 18% prefer to work at a company with a formal dress code.

Senior managers were also asked, “Which of the following is the most common dress code violation at your company?” Forty-seven percent said dressing too casually, and 32% said showing too much skin.

Other responses included:

• Having visible tattoos or piercings – 6%;
• Having ungroomed facial hair – 5%;
• Wearing excessive accessories – 4%; and
• Having extreme hair colors/styles – 3%.

The surveys include responses from more than 300 senior managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees, and more than 350 U.S. workers ages 18 or older and employed in office environments.