How does your workplace dress code affect your mindset and productivity?

Question

What is the dress code at your workplace, and does it make you feel less or more productive? How does it affect your mindset? Do you wish that you could wear something else?

I've only had a full-time position at one company, whose dress code is business casual (khakis, polo/button-up shirt) with casual Fridays (jeans). The business casual code keeps the environment reasonably professional, but I'm curious as to how other developers feel their environment and productivity is affected by being able to wear t-shirts/jeans/sneakers or suits and ties.

Answer 1

I have worked with dress codes in the past (Business Casual), but I don't have one now. It is subtle, but when I don't have a dress code, I feel more relaxed. When I am more relaxed, I am more confident, and I tend to be a better employee. Again, I think the difference is subtle, but I certainly feel like there is a difference between the two.

Answer 2

I work from home, so my workplace dress code is very simple: something. I wouldn't even have that, but my cats aren't declawed.

I don't think there's anything less relevant to programming than what the programmer happens to be wearing, so I've never been a big fan of work dress codes.

Answer 3

Where I'm working now requires ties, and dress shoes, both of which I find uncomfortable.... It also takes me longer to get ready in the morning, and if I forget to bring a tie or something, it's a big distraction because I have to solve that problem before I can get to work. I think it stresses me out a bit and takes away from a relaxed creative state. If I'm in shorts and flip flops I feel more like a brilliant developer... if I'm doing the tie and dress shoe thing, I feel like more of a corporate cog. I can't say exactly if that has a real effect on the quality of my work, but it feels that way.

Answer 4

I like having a little bit of over-dress (suits and ties) because:

• as an architect, I have meeting with various hierarchy levels, including "high" ones (so I never have any problem with that "dress" issue)
• as a support team member for other developers, I like meeting them at their workstation, and when there is no chair available, just be on my knees and work on their issues: the message being: "I will help you, no matter what". Again, subtle, but it works.

That being said, I fully understand the hurdle a "suit and tie" represents (I had 2 years in the army to get used to it ;) ), and I would not recommend it for a day-to-day development activities. I am just used to it, so I do not think about it.

Answer 5

I am self employed and I work from a home office. When I have a face to face with customers I dress in casual business attire. When I write code it is in jeans and a bright tropical shirt. This helps the brain cells to work better.

I have always disliked wearing ties. A most useless piece of clothing. Restricting blood flow to the brain must impact productivity. There you go, an idea for some one to write a research paper on.

Answer 6

I 'work' in the Israeli army.
Man, does coding in uniform suck!

Answer 7

I worked as a software engineer at Google for a couple of years. Their dress code was pretty simple: "You must wear clothes". Most engineers ended up wearing jeans and t-shirts, with some dressing slightly nicer. It was also easy to tell when someone was around who wasn't an engineer, as they'd tend to be more dressed up. The official line was "You can be serious without a suit" (It's even on the corporate philosophy page). I think this was largely true, and made for a much more relaxed environment, where it was ok to goof off to let off some steam, and then go back to work on important issues.

Now I work at a small startup which was founded by three ex-googlers. I haven't bothered to ask about dress code, but as far as I can tell, it's the same as Google's. I find that if I dress up a little bit (jeans and a button-down shirt, say), that I feel better about myself, and am more confident than I would be if I was just in a t-shirt, even though I'm just as comfortable.

Answer 8

I run a company where the dress code is casual but no team colours. I have no problem with people turning up with pretty much any type of clothes as long as it's not offensive (i.e. blatant provocation of any variety), or 2 years unwashed and rancid. Team colours are banned because they can cause all forms of tensions. The only suit rule is - visit a client, wear a suit - it's just a business norm, so respect the client.

Answer 9

I worked in both environments(business casual and no dress-code). Though I prefer no dress-code, I find I am more productive when I am bit more dressed. Maybe it affects the discipline part when I am in shorts/flip-flops which creeps into stuff like not shaving and personal hygiene in my case :D

On a lighter note, I prefer female co-workers to be dressed business casual cause they look better and it gives me motivation to impress them by working harder.

Answer 10

My work place has no dress code of any kind; I usually wear a t-shirt or polo with shorts and sandals. The company values the individual's contributions and their ability to interact with the team. Everything else is flexible and I like it that way.

As far as customer meetings, we dress based on the customer. If it's finance, a suit is typically worn. Otherwise it's business-casual. Once we get more familiar with the customer, casual dress isn't uncommon. Some customers actually prefer casual so it's really just a question of "using good judgement" as the boss says.

Answer 11

As an engineer I can instantly go from meetings with management to out on the greasy/grimy shop floor. I am expected to perform my job to the same level of professionalism in all places and times regardless of how I look. Thus I don't hold much stead in dress codes per se.

However I do understand the importance of impressions, so I try to do what is right when I can.

There was an old story I heard a while back about someone who was going to be honored by the king/president (whatever) at a party. First the honoured person turns up wearing fancy clothes and is the toast of the party. Then they slip out and return wearing rags and find that they can't get in. The comment to this was that it was not the honored person who was invited to the party, but instead it was his fancy clothes.

Answer 12

Where I work, it varies by department. People who meet and interact with customers have different "standards" than those who do not. The company policy is basically "no flip flops, no halter tops, etc". Which is a good thing, because I wouldn't want to shave my chest for a halter top. ;-)

My team can pretty much wear what they want, as long as it is not in poor taste (read as suggestive, profane, controversial). No restrictions on facial hair or hair length, either. (Spoken as a formerly long-haired and currently bearded example).

Answer 13

Where I work currently, it's business casual, which is annoying but tolerable. I worked last year in a place where I had to wear ties every day, with business casual on Friday. I don't take jobs like that; I was there because my consulting firm placed me there, and I resented it.

Three years ago I worked in a place where there was no dress code; people wore jeans, and shorts in the summer. Back then I could've honestly said that, coincidentally or not, the place had the sloppiest code I'd yet seen. But by now I've worked enough places to see that there's no correlation; the shirt-and-tie place had terrible code too.

So why, then, do companies require a dress code? I've concluded that it's for the same reason they give people uncomfortable chairs, and cubicles, and slow computers, and hardly any vacation.

Answer 14

Where I currently work most of us where jeans and a shirt, though some of us try to go to a button up shirt without a tie. This is the second most formal dress code I've had, with my little time at a bank being where the suit and tie was required all the time.

The current dress code for where I am now does give me a feeling of a little professionalism which is good, while other places were less formal and thus could lead to messier code as things didn't necessarily have to look as neat as they do where I am now.

I'm not sure I wish that I could wear something else as anything less formal would be where silly T-shirts would pop up. What I wear works fine for me and isn't that tough to do in terms of laundry and keeping it neat and tidy.

Answer 15

We go the google route, I guess, anything goes. For me it's shorts and t-shirts all summer, jeans in the winter. People wear sandals in the summer all the time. I regularly wear my Leafs and Rock jerseys during the hockey and lacrosse seasons too. Doesn't hurt that I never have to visit with customers, though those that do have to go at least business casual.

I have had jobs in the past that required collared shirts and ties and such, and I wouldn't go back for anything. As MusiGenesis said, the quality and quantity of code I write is unrelated to the clothes I'm wearing.

Answer 16

Aussie summers are hot, so I wear shorts, sandals and t-shirt; Jeans and a sweatshirt in winter. The only explicit rule here is that some form of footwear must be worn (people were wandering around the office in their socks, and that's just nasty).