Recently Jeopardy had a clue about the basketball player- tall senator from Pennsylvania and his notoriously casual wardrobe, John Fetterman. It's not the biggest issue in a world where university students are protesting the war in Gaza, innocent people are dying in many parts of the world, climate change, etc., etc., but it is an interesting discussion, especially in light of the pandemic and working from home, what the dress code should be for work.
Now that I work from home everyday in shorts and a T-shirt, I simply cannot fathom how I got through 5 days a week pre-pandemic showing up to work in business casual attire, with dress shoes and a clean shirt and ironed pants (I didn't necessarily meet all these requirements, but it definitely did qualify as business casual!) Getting out of bed every day and forcing myself to get those contrivances on must have been a dreadful experience. MJ still has to deal with it, which is part of the reason she resents going in but does anyway because of peer pressure from work colleagues. The first thing she does upon returning is ALWAYS to change out of the cloth, RIP off her bra as if it's a leech attached to her body, and lie down. I totally get it; dress code clothes seem like a straitjacket imposed by society to make us all feel more uncomfortable than we should feel, for the sake of what? Making others believe we are more professional? If that's the only purpose, it seems like an illusory concept that can be done away with by mutual agreement not to adhere to those standards anymore. Who came up with the business casual standard anyway? In these ways I do agree with John Fetterman wearing whatever he wants in the Senate, it's all for show anyway, what matters is the substance of what John Fetterman does for his state, not how he looks on the outside. And by the way what is the standard for appearing on screen on Zoom anyway (asking for a friend)? If I'm sitting at home with no one around me but I'm staring at the screen at other colleagues, does that require putting on business clothes, and for what purpose would it be for? Just to show others how serious I am about the meeting, when they'd probably only see down to my neck? I could be down to my underwear everywhere else, as long as I show on screen that I'm a professional person?
On the other hand, I get the flip side of wanting some sort of dress code that everyone can agree on, and adhering to that dress code so everyone is held to that standard (I just feel that standard should be relaxed a bit). For example, court proceedings is one area I agree lawyers should look as businesslike and professional as possible. (See the movie "My Cousin Vinny"). If doctors need to wear gown and hospital garb, I'm OK with lawyers being formal in front of a judge, if only to add to the official nature of such a situation. And while I'm with Fetterman in the general idea of wearing what you want, Fetterman is a U.S. senator representing 13 million people (PA's population based on 2022 census) and you're making important decisions as the highest legislative body in the world..... maybe set a good example and show discipline and respect for the office by dressing up for the job? And I've worked in offices where no one cared about dress code; it raises some questions of marketability for the company and whether people are just there to fool around and do a sloppy job. I personally experience just a tad more responsbility when putting on my "big boy clothes" and even subconsciously start to take the job more seriously. It's psychological; "I'm at work and other people are working with me and we all look similar together at the same time.
Verdict: casual at home, business casual when going into offices where others can see you and be in the same presence. Pending resolution: how to dress during Zoom calls, should they be treated like appearing live in person?
No comments:
Post a Comment