From your first day of Kindergarten to the last of High School or Junior College (in some cases) you are compelled to wear a uniform. In the first 15 years of your life, almost 75% of your time is spent in wearing the same boring dress; this statistic seems scary when you read it:P.
Soon, your degree college life gives you the liberty to be the cynosure (girls and boys alike ;)) and exactly when you get the hang of things around, you are thrown into the professional world. This is where an altogether new war begins with life and in the midst of this, we fight our daily battles! And trust me, fighting these battles wearing the same dress (read: dress code) every day is a battle in itself! A dress code at work is the last thing you need, and if you ask me why? Here’s why there should be no dress code at work.
- Because variety is the spice of life!
This does not imply that ‘formal wear’ doesn’t give you the option of mixing up things. However – change the color of the shirt or trouser or your shoe – there’s nothing else that you can do to make yourself unbored. You cannot experiment much with a formal wear, as much as you can with casual wear.
- It makes you feel as if you’re in Jail!
After you get up in the morning, once in a while you feel like wearing something different; you have no choice but to wear what ‘you’re told to’! Beginning your day on this note is a perfect remedy for disaster.
- Can’t ignore the ‘Weather’ factor
In India, during the 4 months of summer, one can’t even walk a couple of steps without breaking sweat; travelling is already a pain – to add to this, if you’re wearing formals, you’re literally finished for the day! The next 4 months, it rains cats and dogs – the situation becomes worst, if not better. The biggest advantage of not having a dress code here is the option of improvising.
- The working environment becomes tolerable!
At times, the office environment can be stressful. In fact, even dull interiors can be one of the reasons one might feel frustrated. In the midst of this, when you see people around wearing the same boring dress – it adds insult to the injury: P. Following no dress code might just save your day.
Having said this, dress code for specific days such as client meetings and presentations are justified. However, the rest of the days the liberty to ‘wear what we feel’ would work wonders for employees.