Apparently, dress code makes an impression on you as an employee and your place of work subsequently. How an employee chooses to dress in their place of work can have an impact on their reputation and the company they represent.  

For this reason, experts argue that for the sake of being professional and presentable, it is important to mind what one wears at work.

Andrew Kazungu, an assets management specialist, explains that different organisations and companies set certain standards and rules of acceptable criteria of what to wear at work to maintain a professional image of themselves and the business. This is especially so where employees routinely interact on a daily basis with prospective clients and business partners, he says.

"Some provide uniforms for their employees, rightfully so because of the nature of the work and environment. Places like restaurants and shopping malls or big retail businesses ought to have their staff in a uniform, otherwise it will be hard to distinguish between a staff and regular client. However, some allow employees to dress freely or casually,” he adds.

He stresses that how employees dress at work matters since what we wear gives impression, "and is a self-direct imprint of what we are in the eyes of the public, we often times are defined by what we wear.”

Sheila Muziba, a logistics coordinator, however, believes that setting a particular dress code, for example, depends on the kind of workplace. For a construction site, if a reflector jacket or helmet counts as ‘dress code’ then yes, for safety reasons, she says.

"While in a corporate workplace, I don’t think it is necessary to have a dress code. An employee can choose to put on whatever they are comfortable with as long as it doesn’t violate any of the institution’s core values,” she says.

An article by Glenn Ebersole shows that 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 realise 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,” Ebersole explains.

"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.”