Term: Business Casual A dress down version of traditional business dress (i.e. suit and tie).

. Business casual for men means no tie or jacket is necessary however, the requirement is neatly press slacks and shirt with polished shoes, a jacket is favorable. For women it can be a variety of items dresses, slacks, skirts, blouses and polished shoes. Business Casual What is business casual? The biggest fashion problem in the workplace is truly understanding the concept of business casual. For men it can mean anything from a sports coat with or without a tie to pleated cotton slacks with a collared shirt, short sleeve polo shirt and loafers. For women pant suits, dresses, suits and coordinated shirt and slack ensembles (Confusion reigns in, 2003). The term of business casual can go even further, being so detailed as color, texture and patterns of clothing. Pastels large floral prints and bright colors are not viewed as favorably as neutrals colors such as; beige, taupe and brown (Chaney & Martin, 2007, p22). In the banking industry and heavy client based companies, there is a fine line between looking professional, relating to their clients and keeping employee morale high, the solution is business casual dress (Entzminger, 2005). Society sees the need to prepare perspective employees on the appropriate dress in business. There are various programs that assist low-income job seekers to define business casual dress. Surveying a group of low-income job seekers determined that they knew what traditional business dress was (suit and tie) but had problems when confronted with the idea of business casual (Saiki, 2013). Since business casual is a topic that is confusing among generational lines a helpful way to convey the standards for business casual and its defined meaning is to put the dress code in writing, this way employees have a guideline to follow (Entzminger, 2005). In the actual workplace, business casual is important you will find management level employees dress in that manner. It is an expected behavior both Wanda and

Olaf in the workplace observation were always dressed according to the standards of their workplace (Boyd, 2014). Changing Times Why Business Casual? The short answer is that the market place demands that style of dress. It is recession proof dress. Recently, employers have noticed the trend of employees dressing better to keep their jobs. When observing a conference from one year to the next, the once slouchy dressed attendees were now dressed up with a suit and tie. The obsession with creativity at work is this ludicrous idea that if you were dressing in a more relaxed way you would have better ideas (Montagne, 2009). Employees know that they are being watched and dress and grooming is noticed. Dressing professionally is essential not only in getting the job but keeping it as well. The notion of moving away from Casual Friday is also on the table. Either Friday is a workday or it isnt (Montagne, 2009). While it may not seem possible, in observation one on Friday when a relaxed style of dress is acceptable, Wanda was still dress in a business casual manner (Boyd, 2014). Another reason is the decline of what was called the dot.com era. The influx of internet start-ups allowed workers to stay at home and not have to dress unless meeting with perspective clients. With the return to the office the business expectation is business casual (Entzminger, 2005). Companies in the fortune 500 category want to take it a step further 56% of them maintain a business attire policy which drops the casual and means suit and tie for men and suit or dress for woman. Their reasoning executives feel this promotes a better image and productivity (Gardyn & Fetto, 2002). Research has outlined the business professional dress which is higher end clothing, is a lot more restrictive. Business professional dress suggests that employees stick to certain color suits such as; dark blue and gray keeping in line with a more classic traditional style (Chaney & Martin, 2007).

Company and Employee Image Society defines the meaning of appearance through clothing, accessories, grooming and hairstyles all which communicate a powerful message. Employees are the frontline of what clients see and based on this a company can have a positive or negative impression in the minds of their clients. It is also determined that when employees are dress professional they feel professional and are more productive. A company lost a client after they made an office visit, the CEO of the client company mentioned that the final decision came down to the fact that the competitors employees dress and acted more professional and had a business manner (Chaney & Martin, 2007). Dress matters, customers feel that when the employee is dressed well the service will be equal and the reverse is true, when dress inappropriate service would be substandard. Additionally, researchers have found that people form impressions of another individual based on the clothing worn by the individual (Yurchisin & Watchraveringkan, 2011). Human Resource professionals believe that their role is to help companies realize that organizational culture is impacted by workplace attire and therefore, they should assist in determining the dress code. Organizations should look to hire individuals that can comfortably be brought into the company dress code (Peluchette and Karl, 2007). So what do the numbers say? Coming across professional is very important (Entzminger, 2005). According to the American Industry Dress Code Survey comprised of senior level executives at companies which had an annual revenue of over $500 million, this is how the senior executives felt about employees dress in professional attire such as; a. Project a better image b. Are more likely to be noticed c. Tend to command more respect 70% 68% 60%

d. Feel more confident e. Appear more organized f. Are more likely to get promoted

49% 46% 22% (Gardyn & Fetto, 2002)

Overall, companies are looking for individuals that will boost company image. Conformity Success and advancement are two words you want in your professional career. In the workplace for that to happen you must conform. Using the example of TV show Ugly Betty and the main character Betty Suarez, researchers try to show that conformity is not a bad word (Burgess Wilkerson, & Thomas, 2009). Many of the students when viewing the episode felt she was competent and her wardrobe was an extension of Bettys individuality. Moreover, they felt that the way she dressed should not affect her chance at promotions or the way management viewed her but her ability (Burgess-Wilkerson, & Thomas, 2009). Is conformity necessary to succeed? Researcher Kiddie would dis-agree, back in 1980 he was new to the job market and started his hunt for his first job. He had two choices IBM and Bell Labs he choose the latter due to the relaxed dress code. He continues by encouraging his business students to determine if the business they are considering matched their preferences for business attire. Searching for clues by browsing the companys website, reviewing their annual report, anything that would provide a clue as to the dress code and the compan ys interpretation of such code (Kiddie, 2009). Dressing appropriate for work is still important for workers who want to make a good impression and advance their careers (Confusion reigns in, 2003). Conforming to the dress code of your workplace is the expectation. When Matt Lauer cohost of The Today Show was interviewed on the Larry King Live, Larry asked Matt whether he had changed is attire since being in his current position Matt stated that he now wears a suit every day because he never

knows when he will be called upon to interview someone of high rank and that a suit gives him the visual credibility he needs (Chaney & Martin, 2007).