Have you all guessed by now that my six-year-old daughter weighs in on most issues, and that she is the not so “ghost-like” writer of many of these entries?
Yesterday over breakfast, she asked why I get so “fancy” just to go to work. I looked down and saw a blouse, slacks and about a 1 ½ inch heel on my shoes and declared that there was nothing fancy about me. I was wearing business casual. That meant nothing to her.
“Why don’t you wear something comfortable to work like I do at school?”
Well, we have a dress code policy at work, and I dress this way because…
“Do you work differently because you’re wearing those clothes instead of comfortable ones?”
Well, no, but we have a dress code policy, and sometimes we have meetings with other people, and they care about how we dress.
“Grown-ups worry too much about things that don’t matter.”
How would you feel, Lexi, if your teacher wore pajamas to school every day?
“I wouldn’t care. I would just ask her why she’s wearing pajamas, but she is still going to be a good teacher no matter what she wears.”
Well, similar to how you have rules at home and school, I have rules at work. And it is respectful to obey the rules where you are. If I didn’t like this dress code at work, I could always decide to work somewhere else. But I love the place I work, and I don’t mind the dress code at all.
Which I don’t. I think I’m actually more comfortable in business casual than jeans.
But Lexi’s point is still worth noting. Grown-ups really do worry too much about things that don’t ultimately matter, and the dress code policy is one of those issues. I remember working in restaurant early in my professional career and thinking that too much emphasis was placed on the dress code. Servers who provided excellent customer service were sometimes sent home to change. All that accomplished was replacing a great server with a mediocre server in full uniform. As a customer, I would much prefer the server with the great attitude who knows the menu blindfolded than the server who is in perfect uniform but can’t tell me the soup of the day. But as a manager, I would value the employee who not only provides excellent customer service but also respects the organization and leadership enough to concede minor issues…like the dress code policy.
What do you think about dress code policies-whether for your children at school or you at work?
I had a conversation with
I had a conversation with some girls in their teenage and young adult years this past weekend, and they shared that they don’t base a woman’s ability on what she wears, but they admitted that they like seeing women dressed more professionally even if it is “dressing up” jeans with heels or jewelry. They appreciate women who are authentic and classy, but don’t try too hard to be someone they’re not. What I learned most from the conversation was that these young girls watch our actions and listen to our conversations more than I thought!
The job market is so
The job market is so competitive today! Working moms need every bit of confidence that we can garner, even if its only from a nice manicure and pair of cute slides.