The most important reason for dressing conservatively at the workplace is to:

You've seen old photos of workplaces where men wear hats and sharply fitted suits with pocket squares, and women wore hose and tall, blocked heels in impeccably fitted skirts and dresses. You've also seen modern tech workspace photos where it seems to be a free-for-all insofar as dress code. The best choice lies somewhere in the middle. The importance of a dress code for professionalism is as multifaceted as options for proper clothing.

Creating Workplace Cohesion

An employer’s standard for dress codes creates a standard for visual cohesion. This allows employees to feel part of a group and lends itself to a feeling of all working toward one purpose. It’s also true that if one person dresses like it’s a cookout on the beach while another dresses in a suit and tie there is going to be some awkwardness.

Certainly, employees have a right to express themselves through their clothing – but by that same token so do workplaces, and workplaces reserve the right to express how they want their business to present itself. Whether intentional or not, how we dress sends a message. It is up to employees to ensure that the message conveyed by their appearance is that they're part of the company.

Reflecting the Company's Goals and Visions

Employees are representatives of their workplace. The company’s goals and visions are reflected in who it chooses to hire. The standards for professional attire vary from industry to industry, so it is up to each place to choose its own rules. Even if someone works in an office with very little front-facing interaction, the general rule is everyone should dress as if their clients could come through the door at any moment.

You never really know who you will meet that will make an impact on business dealings. People’s impressions are naturally based on visuals, so how you choose to dress makes for a positive or negative memory of you, which in turn creates that connotation with your company.

Considering that standards vary so much, how do you know how to dress? Asking your company’s human resources department or consulting an employee handbook is a start. There is also that old rule of “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Barring that, what are some guidelines for proper professional dress code for any industry?

How to Dress for Professionalism

Comfort: Wearing ill-fitting clothes – whether too tight or too loose or unsuitable for your body type – should always be avoided. If you are uncomfortable, it will make your work day truly awful. Find something that fits the outer and inner you.

Modesty: When in doubt, cover up. Closed-toe shoes, skirts or dresses below the knee, no shorts, sleeves to the wrists and no exposed shoulders are all good rules of thumb. Even if it seems draconian, it really does pay to err on the side of caution. Basically, if you would wear it on a beach vacation it probably shouldn’t be worn in an office.

Hair, makeup and accessories: This gets a bit trickier. Some companies don’t care if you have a purple mohawk but do care about facial piercings. Be mindful of how your company’s existing employees dress, and ask around to be sure.

The importance of dress code for professionalism cannot be overstated. Personal expression should be balanced with mindfulness of the company’s rules. To be a true professional is to respect your workplace’s rules for attire as much as they respect your skills in your field.

Business attire has changed significantly over the years, especially in the last 20 years. Too many people have forgotten why proper business attire is important.

Some companies prefer to allow –and even encourage – employees to dress freely or casually for comfort. This tends to work well in more creative work environments.

However, other companies will typically encourage and/or require a more defined and professional dress code to maintain a professional image of themselves and the business where employees routinely interact on a daily basis with prospects, clients and business partners.

Conflicts arise when employees prefer to dress comfortably or in the most recent styles rather than realize the importance for them to present themselves in a more professional or conservative manner.

The major reason why dressing in proper business attire is important for every business professional is because it presents a visual image and sends a message that the employees are professional.

Another reason why dressing in proper business attire is important in the business world is because you never know when you will be required to meet with someone from outside your company. Your image to this outsider will be the image of your company that is remembered. In business dealings, this image and message needs to be professional. That image could indirectly mean the difference between securing a new deal, contract or sale and losing the opportunity to make that deal.

The importance of a dress code varies somewhat by industry. However, the correlation between the two is generally strong. Appearance ranked second only to communication skills when respondents named qualities most often associated with professionalism, according to a 2010 national poll conducted by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania.

Matthew Randall, executive director of the CPE, said, ‘How an individual dresses for work can be a powerful extension of his or her personal brand. Clothes, accessories and even the footwear an employee chooses to wear help to reinforce or diminish his or her skills and qualities in the eyes of the employer, co-workers and clients’.

Although a one-size-fits-all or universal dress code may not be achievable or realistic, some universal guidelines are possible and could include:

Be modest. It is most important to get attention for great work rather than gaining attention for wearing the latest fashion fad or in appropriate leisure wear or sportswear found outside the office at a sports event, party or beach.

Beware of casual Fridays. Casual Fridays have the potential to turn into real fashion disasters. It is important to remember that the workweek has not ended on Thursday and that the images and messages sent on Friday must be consistent with each of the previous days of the week.

Be comfortable. This applies to the fit of your attire and the comfort of the shoes you wear. Comfort needs to trump fashion in the choices made.

Be mindful that basic etiquette must accompany appropriate attire. Appropriate attire must be combined with basic business and professional etiquette. The two are intertwined and integrated when presenting a professional image of yourself and your company. First impressions and overall judgments about people are formed by the way they dress. Since the way someone dresses affects the perception of a company’s customers or business partners, it is important to maintain a standard of dress that creates a positive impression.

Be sure to strive to achieve an appropriate balance of employer rights and individual freedom. Some employers experience resistance from employees who believe they have the right to groom themselves and dress in a way that suits their personality. Basically, this is true in the context of what they do outside of the employer’s operation. While individuals have a right to express themselves, so businesses have a similar right in the workplace, since the way employees dress definitely sends intended or unintended messages to clients, customers and prospects. A commitment to strive to achieve an appropriate balance is very important.

Whatever else we think about dressing for success, we need to be reminded that first impressions are everything, and we only get one chance to make a positive first impression.

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