Establishing Employee Dress Code: Suit Up or Ship Out
Bad News to Employees: Suit Up or Ship Out
During the feverish dot-com boom days, ' business casual dress became the workplace norm. Like many other companies, Bear Steams, the sixth largest securities firm in the United States, loosened its dress policies. It allowed employees to come to work in polo shirts, khaki pants, and loafers for two important reasons: It had to compete with Internet companies in a tight employment market, and it wanted to fit in with its casual dot-com customers. But when the dot-com bubble burst and economy faltered, the casual workplace environment glorified by failed internet companies fell out of favor.
Managers at Bear Stearns decided to reverse course and cancel the casual dress code that had been in effect for two years. Company spokesperson Elizabeth Ventura said, “Our employees should reflect the professionalism of our business." Some observers felt that relaxed dress codes carried over into relaxed work attitudes.
Particularly in difficult economic times, Bear Stearns believed that every aspect of the business, including dress, should reflect the serious attitude and commitment it had toward relations with clients. After the securities market plunged, Bear Stearns slashed 830 jobs, amounting to 7 .5 percent of its workforce. This was the biggest cut in company history and officials vowed to get serious about regaining market share.
To put into effect its more serious business tone, Bear Stearns decided to return to a formal dress code. For men, suits and ties would be required. For women, dresses, suits with skirts or slacks, or “equivalent attire" would be expected. Although Bear Stearns decided to continue to allow casual dress on Fridays, sports jackets would be required for men.
Despite the policy reversal, company officials downplayed the return to more formal attire. Spokes person Ventura noted that the company's legal, administrative, and private client services departments had never adopted the casual-dress code. In
During the feverish dot-com boom days, ' business casual dress became the workplace norm. Like many other companies, Bear Steams, the sixth largest securities firm in the United States, loosened its dress policies. It allowed employees to come to work in polo shirts, khaki pants, and loafers for two important reasons: It had to compete with Internet companies in a tight employment market, and it wanted to fit in with its casual dot-com customers. But when the dot-com bubble burst and economy faltered, the casual workplace environment glorified by failed internet companies fell out of favor.
Managers at Bear Stearns decided to reverse course and cancel the casual dress code that had been in effect for two years. Company spokesperson Elizabeth Ventura said, “Our employees should reflect the professionalism of our business." Some observers felt that relaxed dress codes carried over into relaxed work attitudes.
Particularly in difficult economic times, Bear Stearns believed that every aspect of the business, including dress, should reflect the serious attitude and commitment it had toward relations with clients. After the securities market plunged, Bear Stearns slashed 830 jobs, amounting to 7 .5 percent of its workforce. This was the biggest cut in company history and officials vowed to get serious about regaining market share.
To put into effect its more serious business tone, Bear Stearns decided to return to a formal dress code. For men, suits and ties would be required. For women, dresses, suits with skirts or slacks, or “equivalent attire" would be expected. Although Bear Stearns decided to continue to allow casual dress on Fridays, sports jackets would be required for men.
Despite the policy reversal, company officials downplayed the return to more formal attire. Spokes person Ventura noted that the company's legal, administrative, and private client services departments had never adopted the casual-dress code. In