Some employers boot business casual
By Jennie L. Phipps • Bankrate.com

Don't give all your neckties and pantyhose to charity yet: Dressing up for work may be coming back in fashion.

This year, the number of companies permitting casual dress at least once a week fell to 86 percent. While still a sizable number, that's a sharp drop-off from a high of 95 percent in 1999, according to an annual poll by the Society for Human Resource Management.

What's in: Bush Formal
One highly visible workplace exemplifies the trend. One of the first acts of Andy Card, President Bush's chief of staff, was dumping the Clinton administration's casual dress code. "Andy's guidance to us is very basic -- to treat the White House with respect," Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a press conference. "That means when you walk into the Oval Office, you should be properly attired; if you're in your offices on the weekend, be properly attired."

Other executives are adopting similar positions. David W. Goodfellow, CEO of Maritage Inc., a 900-employee, Chicago-area machine tool manufacturing company, says when his company gave up casual dress, things got more businesslike.

"We all felt that the attentiveness in meetings and discussions was really deteriorating, so we've gone back to respectful business attire -- shirts and ties for men and skirts and dresses for the ladies. I think people feel better about themselves that way," Goodfellow says.

Maritage's experience appears to be supported by a survey of 1,000 companies conducted by Jackson Lewis Schnitzler & Krupman, an employment law firm based in New York City. Survey participants reported that since implementing "dress down" policies, 44 percent noticed an increase in tardiness and absenteeism. Another 30 percent reported a rise in flirtatious behavior.

"Business formal" creates a better, more successful work environment, agrees Dave Monteith, vice president of marketing and sales for H.R. Krueger, an automotive design company based in suburban Detroit. His company ditched casual last year and went back to a dressier look for employees who meet clients in person. "We felt that the more traditional dress was more representative of the position that we wanted to take relative to dealing with our customers -- one that was a higher ground from a professional perspective."

What's out: Silicon Valley Casual
Allen Konopacki, an industrial psychologist and president of Incomm International, a Chicago-based trade-show research group that tracks trends at trade shows and exhibitions, says his research shows that there has been a startling turnabout in the attitude toward business casual. Ten years ago, his studies indicated that most people approved of what he calls "Silicon Valley Casual." But when he repeated his survey at key exhibition halls six months ago, 72 percent of people said they prefer to see exhibitors in a shirt and a tie or a dress.

Konopacki thinks there are two issues driving this retrenchment. First, an increasing number of the customers at trade shows represent foreign companies where business casual has never caught on. " Attire can indicate the level of respect the seller has for the customer, and European or Asian people don't see casual as respectful."

In addition, he believes that the level of exchange between companies is down. Five years ago, a salesperson might visit a customer several times a year. But with travel costs rising and client loads increasing, face-to-face meetings are becoming more rare. Those that do take place therefore become more-formal events, Konopacki says. "When that's the situation, the customer wants reassurance that everything is on a very professional level. More-formal dress helps give that impression."

Halter right there: Spell out the rules
Casual dress remains an extremely popular company benefit and one that can be easily implemented, says Kristin Bowl, spokeswoman for the Society for Human Resources Management. However, companies that make it work best are those that spell out and prominently post guidelines. Among the most common rules are:

• No halter-tops
• No shorts
• No stretch pants or leggings
• No jeans
• No shirts without collars
• No sneakers or athletic shoes

Kathryn Russo, an employment lawyer with Jackson Lewis Schnitzler & Krupman, says unregulated and unmonitored casual dress can lead to unprofessional behavior. "When people dress more casually at work, they let their guard down. Casual dress and unprofessional behaviors such as sexual harassment aren't necessarily linked, but we do think a more casual work atmosphere can lead to more problems for employers," Russo says.

She advises employers to enact and enforce clear and easy-to-understand dress codes and sexual harassment policies. "If people are in violation, you should take action -- even if it doesn't seem like a big deal. You must apply these policies consistently to avoid claims of disparate treatment or disparate impact. The perception of unfairness can lead to suits over something as inconsequential as whether you can wear sneakers to work."

Jennie L. Phipps is a contributing editor based in Michigan.

-- Posted: April 20, 2001