Dress For Success: Even At Home

Currently, of the remote-capable U.S. employees, 52% work in a hybrid model, 26% are fully remote, and 22% work exclusively on-site. And according to a recent survey, most executives expect remote work to continue growing, suggesting that at least some remote work is becoming the ‘new normal’ for remote-capable employees in today’s workplace.

If you are one of the growing number of people now working from home, you no doubt enjoy several advantages over those commuting to work each day. Extra time to sleep in — since travel time to your home office is about 3 seconds, and no bother to get ready for work, right? Wrong! Sorry to burst your bubble, but you do need to get ready for work – even if you’re working from home and don’t have any Zoom meetings scheduled. Why? Your clothes shape the way you see yourself – the way you think and the way you perform — and by extension, your productivity and potential for success.

Your Clothes are Talking About You and To You

Your clothes are not only talking about you; they are also talking to you. And since the way you’re dressed influences how you feel about yourself, it’s important to dress based on how you want to feel, not on how you actually feel. Your clothes can make you feel more positive, powerful and well-prepared, or they can make you feel more self-conscious, anxious, and embarrassed. How we dress powerfully impacts both our feelings and our behaviors.

In one study demonstrating the impact of dress on performance, two teams of students were competing in a negotiating effort. The teams were exactly the same except one team was wearing professional business attire and the other was wearing street clothes. The team wearing professional business attire performed significantly better against the other team every time. Why did that happen? How we’re dressed not only affects our self-perceptions (e.g., positive, powerful, and well-prepared), but it also impacts our mood, motivation and even our cognitive processing style, and ability to engage in rational thinking. Additional research shows that wearing formal business attire contributes to higher employee morale and productivity…. and thus, to an enhanced opportunity for success.

The Clothes You Wear Can and Do Make a Difference in Your Success

Clearly people do see themselves differently based on the clothing they are wearing, although they are typically unaware of it. And these self-perceptions directly impact the quality of their performance in the workplace whether that workplace is at home or elsewhere. Further, our dress can impact our creativity, productivity, perceived trustworthiness, authoritativeness, competence, and our performance on a variety of measures.

Another study discovered that people performed better on attention-related tasks when wearing a medical lab coat than when wearing normal street clothes. Doctors are thought to pay careful attention to detail, so wearing a doctor’s lab coat triggers concepts associated with doctors (e.g., attention to detail) and that impacts how we then perform.

Ever wonder why companies instruct people in sales, including phone sales, to smile whenever they are talking with customers — even when the customers do not see them? They can hear it. Our mood and attitude are different when we smile, just as it is when we are dressed professionally, and that difference is reflected in our verbal communication. Few people realize how extensively clothing influences the perceptions of others or their own perceptions of themselves.

Conclusion

Keep in mind the clothes we wear have a powerful effect not only on others, but also on ourselves, impacting our performance far more than we realize. Even a subtle change in your dress can create a powerful difference in how people interact with you. Your dress can become a powerful sales tool that enables you to gain respect, promotions, and earning power. The idea behind dressing for success is to use your clothing choices to become more successful in the workplace, wherever your workplace happens to be. So set the stage for success and dress like you mean business.

About the Guest Author:

Sandra Forsythe, Ph.D. Wrangler Professor, Apparel Merchandising Director, Presidential Fellow, Emeritus, Auburn University, is one of the most highly recognized experts on clothing and perceptions both domestically and internationally. She presented her research on clothing and perception to many national and international audiences and published extensively in academic journals. She taught social psychology of clothing, clothing and perception, and professional development for over 30 years. Dr. Forsythe’s book ‘𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬’ is designed to help you (1) recognize what your clothing is powerfully but silently communicating about you (and to you) and (2) effectively use your clothing to communicate desired messages and enhance your success. Cisso Bean & Dutch, LLC wishes to thank Dr. Forsythe for her contribution to our guest blogger series. For more on Dr. Forsythe, visit her LinkedIn here or her website here: www.yourclothingtalks.com  If you would like to pre-order her book, click here https://lnkd.in/eW47emKb