Majority of U.S. Workers Think Casual Attire Equals More Productive

Only 19% said casual dressers in the workplace are “slackers.”  

However, 38% of U.S. respondents said casual dressers in the workplace will never make it into senior management, and 64% said senior managers should always be more dressed up than their employees.  

Thirty-seven percent of U.S. respondents indicated they wear traditional business attire at work, while 41% said they wear casual attire. Forty-four percent reported their employers have a designated day or time for wearing casual attire.  

Nearly a third (32%) of U.S. workers surveyed said it is appropriate to wear shorts to work, but only 18% indicated it is appropriate to wear sandals or flip-flops. More than a third (35%) said it is ok to wear a speedo or bikini at a work picnic or day at the beach.  

The survey results suggest Europeans have the most casual attitude about workplace attire (see Europeans Most Casual about Work Clothes).  

More than 12,600 adults, ages 18-64 in the U.S. and Canada and ages 16-64 in 22 other countries, were interviewed for the survey. The 24 countries included Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.