How important is “wear whatever you want to work” to you?

[rob_s]

I’ve had a few instances over the past year or so that have led to this question.

Without going into details, I’m curious what you all think on the topic.

Would you choose one identical job over the other if one allowed you to wear whatever you want to work?

Would you take a $10k/year hit? $20k? $500k over the next 20 years?

Would you choose a more “dead end” job that allowed you to wear whatever you want, while a more “management track” position that pays the same today required you to wear what the company demands?

Let’s assume here that we are excluding extremes. I’m not taking about a company making you wear a chicken suit, or some sort of demeaning consume, and I’m not taking about being allowed to show up to work in your underpants. In either extreme, let’s assume fully clothed, not demeaning, not offensive, not extreme, etc.

As a more specific example, let’s say you’d prefer to wear jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt and the company wants you to wear dress-ish shoes, khakis, and a polo. Or you want to wear shorts but they require long pants. Etc.

Let’s also assume the pay differential is not extreme. I’m not taking about “I’ll wear a chicken suit if you want me to as long as I get $1M!”

[Bio]

I’ve had a few instances over the past year or so that have led to this question.

Without going into details, I’m curious what you all think on the topic.

Would you choose one identical job over the other if one allowed you to wear whatever you want to work?

Would you take a $10k/year hit? $20k? $500k over the next 20 years?

Would you choose a more “dead end” job that allowed you to wear whatever you want, while a more “management track” position that pays the same today required you to wear what the company demands?

Let’s assume here that we are excluding extremes. I’m not taking about a company making you wear a chicken suit, or some sort of demeaning consume, and I’m not taking about being allowed to show up to work in your underpants. In either extreme, let’s assume fully clothed, not demeaning, not offensive, not extreme, etc.

As a more specific example, let’s say you’d prefer to wear jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt and the company wants you to wear dress-ish shoes, khakis, and a polo. Or you want to wear shorts but they require long pants. Etc.

Let’s also assume the pay differential is not extreme. I’m not taking about “I’ll wear a chicken suit if you want me to as long as I get $1M!”

What I wear to work doesn't really rate at all with any concerns I have about a job.

[Welder]

If I still worked for someone else, I'd rate company atmosphere / politics far, far above dress code. At most I'd think something like, "Is this dress requirement considered reasonable by the industry for the job and the pay scale?"

On the other hand, I never ever want to wear a suit to work, or sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, or be required to be inside for 8 hours a day, or even have to show up at the same parking lot every day....so I have my own pet peeves.

[HeavyDuty]

If I needed to wear a suit again, I’d want enough extra to cover that expense - about $10k to start, and another $2k a year for replacements. Other than that, no.

[Bergeron]

My current job is 100% OK with jeans and a button-up, and the job before that was a suit-every-day job. I like being able to wear the more relaxed combination, but the dress code had no real impact on my view of the job. I’ve also had several jobs with “khakis & a dress shirt” in the office, and “coveralls-steel toes-FRCs” in the field, and that’s fine too.

I wore a three-piece suit to an interview with Lockheed Space & Missiles, but field clothes to a production line job interview for Nammo rocket ammunition. Didn’t get either of the jobs, but clothes didn’t factor in either case. I did get told one time on the first day with an new employer to dress down, though.

[RoyGBiv]

Having worked at fortune 50 companies back in the days where a suit and tie was expected every day, and having traveled internationally with a bag full of suits and ties, I can say with certainty that I would have to be paid enough to hire a valet if company dress code required suits and ties.

Short of that, I'm with @Welder , workplace dynamics matters far more to me than what the company asks me to wear, assuming it's not a chicken suit.

[BWT]

I’ve had to wear casual, business casual, and business professional.

I’ve also worked in IT so inevitably I did have some manual labor in my role from time to time (nothing serious but crawling under dusty desks, going into wiring closets, etc.). I typically wear a polo and slacks when visiting customers.

I prefer casual or business casual. But probably wouldn’t be bent out of shape. I really do enjoy Work From Home though. Being a consultant I don’t have a company location I commute to every day. What I’d leave a job for is travel because in my view it’s more detrimental to my family than the additional income.

Business professional as others indicated is expensive at what I make now though it could be more understood. I made $15 an hour when I was required for business professional (not suit coat, but slacks, dress pants, dress shirts, and ties) and I worked in a Call Center performing remote support.

[vcdgrips]

Executive summary. Not very. Workplace dynamics are far more important.

I work in the one of the last bastions of jacket and tie land-Federal Court. Dress Code squawking is real. I like clothes/style but even for me, not having to spend/maintain a dress wardrobe would be a value add. It would only be worth a few thousand at most to me though at this stage of the game given my sunk costs in my wardrobe to date.

For most folks, I concur, office dynamics drive the train. All things being equal, “business casual” has certainly taken hold even in my office.

From March 2020-Sept 2022 we had a “relaxed” dress code of khakis (anything this side of jeans) and a collared shirt for all non court duties.

With the end of summer we went back to jacket/tie Mon-Thurs, Real khakis/slacks and a collared shirt on Fri. Local sports teams colors and LEO oriented polos are especially popular.


Back to the expense: for most, a typical business casual environment is cheaper. For me, in the last 36 months- I just put my money in blazers, slacks, misc dress dress shirts in various colors, fabrics etc., 10+ pairs on shoes/boots etc bought on ebay/thrift at 10-30 % of retail. (Allen Edmonds, Jack Erwins, NOS E.T. Wrights, Made in Italy Johnston and Murphy, Too Boot of NY, Red Wings heritage, Danner etc.) and a watch or three.

[TGS]

In general, yes to all of your questions......and I'd take a $10k cut to not wear a suit. However, there's bigger reasons I avoid assignments where I'd have to wear suits. Generally, it's just not the type of work I want. Tribal/warzones>western europe, investigations>program management, autonomy>sitting at a desk everyday.

I don't really see suits tied to great money, either, which I think is an outdated and unrealistic world view. I bought a Porsche and was able to accomplish that by wearing street clothes. My girlfriend makes even more than me, and she's downstairs at the dining table wearing fleece pants with a pineapples, sunglasses, and pina colada motif. She grew up in a house made of corrugated steel, had lice for most of her childhood, no plumbing besides a hand-pump well for the neighborhood, and some days her family couldn't even afford a protein in their two meals a day. Today, has a $42k SUV and owns her own home in one of the nations most expensive metropolitan areas, and is successful enough that her position takes six months to a year to backfill due to the difficulty in finding someone with her skills.

Suits didn't get her there.

[OfficeCat]

Not really an issue for me. I've gone through several dress code changes over the years with changing jobs and positions, but it's always been either jeans or chinos with a button down shirt, with a period of a few years involving polos with an organizational logo. I've never been in a position where suit and tie would be relevant and won't ever be so that's not even in the realm of consideration for me. The one thing I have considered is a hypothetical situation regarding facial hair. I've worn a beard since I was in college and wouldn't recognize myself without it. That would indeed be a red line for me where I would turn down a new job or promotion if it required me to be clean shaven.