by Maria C Collins

Created on: September 23, 2010   Last Updated: October 19, 2010

Whenever you walk out of your house, your clothes tell people things about you, your character and your life. When you are going to work this is even truer. When you are at work, you not only represent yourself, but also the company. Your company has a dress code because they want to project a particular image to the World.

When someone disobeys the dress code in some way, other workers notice immediately. Whether it is a woman, wearing a forbidden strappy top, or someone whose clothes look as though they have been through a hedge backwards, it causes distraction to other workers. They naturally comment on and gossip about the worker, who has breached the dress code. Gossip is insidious and hard to scotch when it is untrue let alone when it is true. If you are the one, that everyone is gossiping about, your reputation and your credibility is threatened. You may be the best worker in the place and know everything there is to know, but one ill-judged outfit can undo the effort of building a good work reputation.

Your colleagues may also be angry with you, to an extent, and feel that you have let them down as well as yourself. P was a telephonist/receptionist, in a large organization. There was an unwritten rule that receptionist could wear trousers but not jeans. P came to work one day, wearing tatty jeans. The other telephone operators were angry with her, and felt that she had let the whole team down.

A full-length mirror is everyone’s most valuable accessory. Looking into that mirror every morning, before you leave for work, is a necessary habit. Critically examining your outfit as if you were looking at someone else, it will prevent embarrassing mistakes. You may find that perhaps that top is a little too low for work, that skirt a little too short or that your trousers need pressing.

When you stand in front of your mirror, imagine that you are a customer. Would you find you credible, first impressions count for a great deal. People judge others by their clothes. Some outfits are incongruous in certain settings, for example, would you trust a bank manager, lawyer, accountant or doctor, who was wearing shorts and a colourful beach shirt? No, because you would expect professional people to wear a sober outfit, reflecting their professional standing and the serious nature of their work. Yet the same outfit worn by the assistant in a shop at the beach, selling surfboards and beach equipment, would be perfectly in tune with that particular workplace and its business.

Your clothes always tell others about you, your life and your character. The clothes you wear to work reflect your attitude to work and the job. When you are at work, you are not only representing your company but also your colleagues. You should dress in a professional manner for work, according to the company dress code, so that you project credibility to both your colleagues and customers.

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