In yesterday’s business pages a reader recounted how a potential employer turned up for an interview in a tracksuit and asked whether his scruffy appearance should affect the candidate’s decision to take the job. It’s a question that prompts a range of reactions, particularly as dress codes change over time.
Indeed, only two decades ago, the suit, shirt and tie were de rigueur for men in most offices around the world. Now, many business people forgo the tie in favour of an open-neck shirt and suits seem to be losing popularity in many professions.
In this country we benefit from a requirement for kanduras and abayas in the workplace, which provides a neat solution to the dress code conundrum. But for those not obliged to wear national dress, an alternative “acceptable” uniform tends to spring up in the workplace: striped shirts and tailored trousers for some, tracksuits and trainers for others. That still raises many questions: should all employees have to follow the same dress code? And given the choice, what would you prefer to wear at work?