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HR Brew: Science Says That Workplace Dress-code Flexibility Gives Employees Better Self-esteem and Confidence
Originally found at HR Brew.
When Joseph Kim, assistant professor of management at West Chester University, was a doctorate student, his colleague, Ryan Vogel, said he let fashion fall by the wayside. Clothes are “not very important,” Vogel quipped, when you’re focusing on surviving a PhD program. But even if Kim didn’t notice whether his socks matched, Vogel did notice his wife’s fashion—and observed that she seemed happier when she dressed better. As the saying goes: happy wife, happy life—and in this case, it was also the spark for a new research project.
Trying it on for size. To determine whether attire affects employee performance, the team measured self-esteem, coworker interaction, and progress toward goals at four organizations over 10 days. Each day, employees rated their outfit’s attractiveness, uniqueness, and conformity with organization expectations, and recorded their workplace behavior.
Continue reading the original article at HR Brew.
Read the original research in Academy of Management Journal.
Learn more about the AOM Scholars and explore their work:
- Joseph K. Kim, West Chester University
- Brian C. Holtz, Temple University
- Ryan M. Vogel, Temple University