It probably started out in California, where bearded computer whiz kids started showing up for work in flowered shirts and cutoffs. While that may be extreme for the conservative Midwest, a growing number of national and local companies are changing their dress codes. No longer are businesses requiring the once-mandatory “power suit and tie” for men or skirts and heels for women. In one of the most significant changes in business fashion in decades, firms are now allowing employees to dress “casually” on occasion or on a designated day, most typically Friday.
And though our grandfathers would be mortified, experts point out that implementing a casual dress program for employees can boost employee morale, save money and increase productivity.
For many companies, adopting a program may be as simple as sending out a memo. In other situations, it may require the implementation of a program, which would include conducting surveys and setting guidelines.
One of the world’s largest apparel manufacturer’s, Levi Strauss & Co., has developed its own program to help companies across the nation start a casual dress day. Their information packet includes everything from statistics to surveys to suggested guidelines. Companies interested in receiving the information can call 1-800-D0CKERS.
Instead of a pre-made program, one area business decided to design its own guidelines for casual dress day. Crowe Chizek of South Bend looked at other CPA firms and tailored its own policy.
“We have guidelines on what is appropriate vs. inappropriate,” said JoAnn Wittenbach, director of human resources for Crowe Chizek.
Because of the conservative nature of the accounting field, clothing like T-shirts, jeans, sweat pants, shorts and sandals aren’t considered business attire at the firm. Collared shirts, blazers, slacks and blouses on the other hand are good choices.
When implementing the program, Wittenbach said she found it hard to define women’s casual dress. There are so many fashion trends leading away from conservative casual dress. The firm did determine, however, knee length walking-type shorts or skorts are appropriate to wear, when regular summer shorts would not be allowed.
“Business casual isn’t the same thing as casual,” she said. “Many people have a hard time distinguishing between them.”
Although, she added, at Crowe Chizek the transition to casual Fridays was very easy.
So far employee feedback has been positive, Wittenbach said. However, there will always be some skepticism.
Wittenbach said there hasn’t been any specific survey done, but she believes people are more comfortable working on Fridays. Employee morale has probably increased and productivity is better, she added.
At Cellular One, implementing a casual day has been a positive change. John Clark, regional vice president, said the company has both casual and business casual dress codes. Monday through Thursday employees can wear business casual clothing and Friday is casual day.
For business casual, Clark expects men to wear ties and neat slacks, like Dockers. Women should wear slacks, blouses and sweaters. On Friday, people can wear jeans and collared shirts or sweaters.
“We ask our people to dress appropriately for the job,” Clark said.
Overall, Clark said the program has had a positive impact on employees. People are more comfortable, he said.
Surprisingly, with the trend being so widespread, Clark said he still finds himself one of the few without a tie at Rotary Club meetings.
At Juhl Marketing Communi-cations, employees have been dressing casual for the past four years. For the most part, employees can dress in business casual attire all week, with Fridays being designated as the actual casual day.
Working within the advertising field allows people to be more creative with their dress, but for the most part people stick with the business casual.
“We don’t have any strict guidelines,” said Diane Shellingwerf, director of human resources at Juhl. “People use their best judgment and it’s never really been a problem.”
The creative people tend to wear jeans more often, but they still look professional. The account service people tend to be more dressy, she said.
It is hard to measure, but Shellingwerf said she feels the program has boosted morale.
The bottom line is people love it.
Why allow a casual day?
If members of management are skeptical of allowing such a dress code, Levi Strauss has a few reasons why a program should be started.
* With the cost of health care and other benefits rising, allowing casual dress is an attractive way to offer an increasingly popular new benefit at no cost to the company and little cost to the employee.
* Approximately 67 percent of all American companies permit casual dress in the office on an everyday or seasonal basis, or on designated casual days.
* Many companies report that wearing casual clothing can boost morale, improve quality of work, encourage more open communication and increase productivity by creating a more comfortable work environment.
* Employees can also save money because casual businesswear is generally less expensive and requires less professional care than traditional business attire.
* Casual clothing can be tested by instituting casual Fridays for a three-month period.
Giving casual businesswear a try
Most companies first try casual day on a temporary basis prior to adopting the program permanently. Listed below are ways to introduce a casual day.
* Hold a fund-raiser — Invite employees to dress casually on an assigned day if they make a minimum donation to a favorite charity or participate in a blood drive.
* Participate in National Casual Day –Casual Day is an annual nationwide fund-raiser for United Cerebral Palsy. Employees donate $5 and are allowed to dress casually at work Friday, June 14. More than 12,000 companies participated in 1994 and the effort raised more than $3 million for UCP programs serving the disabled. For more information call the local UCP chapter or 1-800-33-CASUAL.
* Adopt a casual travel policy –Corporate staff often wear casual businesswear during travel days. Allow all employees to travel in comfort by encouraging a casual travel policy.
* Encourage casual dress at the next conference or seminar — Adopt casual businesswear at the next conference or company off-site event. Attendees typically enjoy wearing comfortable clothing during lectures and presentations.
* Make a seasonal change — Adopt a casual Friday policy during a change in seasons. If the trial period is a success, consider implementing the program year-round.
* Use casual days as rewards — After working weekends or overtime to complete a project, treat the team or the entire staff to a day of dressing casually as a way to say thank you.
Setting guidelines
Some managers may think the transition to casual dress may be easier by setting guidelines or restrictions. However, others may think setting restrictions would reduce the idea of being viewed as an employee benefit.
A happy medium is to provide employees with examples of what is considered casual dress.
According to the literature provided by Levi Strauss & Co., there is no specific look for a company. It is all based on the industry and management style.
A good idea would be to inform incoming clients and vendors of the policy so they are aware of it and may even dress accordingly.
To ensure a successful program, prior to the first casual day Levi Strauss recommends following specific methods to communicate clothing parameters:
* Use existing information channels –Tap communication vehicles already in place to inform employees of the new dress policy. These can include staff memos, voice mail messages and posters in common areas.
* Distribute a guide to casual businesswear.
