In a post-COVID workplace, is a ‘professional’ dress code still relevant? · Global Voices
Illustration credits © <PERSON>, used with permission.
The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of <PERSON>, <PERSON>, and <PERSON> in the conceptualization and production of this piece.
In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, most people have been in front of screens. The en masse shift to work from home resulted in a change in fashion trends — a newfound affection for sweatpants, for example. The Western professional dress-code standards prohibiting blue jeans, gym shorts, and T-shirts have either been relaxed or disappeared altogether. For example, the sales for Gap’s Athleta unit, which sells tights, jogging pants, sweats, and workout tops rose 6 percent compared with a 52 percent fall at the Banana Republic, which sells dressier attire.
According to a Society for Human Resource Management poll, during the first two years of remote-working, 17 percent wore pajamas as their typical daily work attire. The pandemic has put an unrecognized strain on formal wear outlets, for instance, the iconic Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has radically refashioned workplace dress codes, making an item known as a “ Zoom shirt ” — a clean shirt or blouse that’s kept on the back of your desk chair to quickly be presentable for video conferences — the only absolute necessity.
In the “new normal” workplace, will women's power suits and men's corporate uniforms become irrelevant? While some fashion experts expect the desire for comfortable clothing will outlive the pandemic , some human resource professionals like <PERSON> express concern that the work-from-home grooming and attire of many employees “ scream unprofessional .” Similarly, <PERSON>, a business reporter for CBS Interactive, noted that “most work-from-home attire is hardly acceptable out-of-doors, let alone in any kind of professional environment.” With organizations pushing for employees to return to the physical workplace, are workplace dress codes set to change or will these “professional” structures be thrown out the window altogether?
Are modern dress codes “professional” or just a pathway for ableism?
After over two years of remote work, some employers are slowly talking about returning to the office, and as such, dress-down days may be coming to an end . The transition to the physical workspace could signal a return to the professional dress code and with that, the return to gendered norms and assumptions around appearance and professionalism. 941
<PERSON>, an adviser for the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), said that employers have been reminding employees “not to come into the office in yoga pants and flip-flops.” Similarly, <PERSON> of SHRM writes that “the modified dress code — like the regular dress code when individuals return to the workplace — should be enforced consistently and should provide guidelines that maintain professionalism.” This sentiment toward returning to professional attire can, however, create countless barriers for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
In 2006, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( CRPD ), a major catalyst in the global disability rights movement. Yet little progress has been made in employment: The employment rate for people with disabilities is 34.6 percent compared to 77.6 percent for non-disabled people. The role of employment discrimination in these statistics is important, but clothing discrimination is also a factor.
Researchers from the University of Missouri recently found that workplace participation for PWDs can be exacerbated by the lack of adaptive professional clothing in the marketplace. <PERSON>, Child Protection Specialist and the Disability Inclusion Unit of the UNICEF said:
Professional clothes do not take into account wheelchair users who are seated throughout their workday. It is especially difficult to find skirts or dresses that are long enough once seated and jackets that don't bunch up and become uncomfortable.
Lack of adaptive clothing together with strict dress code rules, hinder the employment opportunities for PWDs. According to a study by the University of Missouri-Columbia, PWDs don't apply for jobs because they don't believe they can meet the expectations of the office dress code. When policies on transitioning to the pre-pandemic dress code are implemented without due diligence, they can unintentionally discriminate against PWDs and prevent them from having equal access to employment in the open labor market.
The renewed expectations around standard professional dress codes reflect the return to pre-COVID lack of creative thinking around the multiple ways we all can engage in work. In our impulse to “get back to normal,” we are disregarding the often more inclusive and more productive ways we have worked in the last two years. 112