Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Our Story
    • Partner with us
    • Reach Us
    • Career
    Subscribe Newsletter
    HR KathaHR Katha
    • Exclusive
      • Exclusive Features
      • Research
      • Point Of View
      • Case In Point
      • Dialogue
      • Movement
      • Profile
      • Beyond Work
      • Rising Star
      • By Invitation
    • News
      • Global HR News
      • Compensation & Benefits
      • Diversity
      • Events
      • Gen Y
      • Hiring & Firing
      • HR & Labour Laws
      • Learning & Development
      • Merger & Acquisition
      • Performance Management & Productivity
      • Talent Management
      • Tools & Technology
      • Work-Life Balance
    • Special
      • Cover Story
      • Editorial
      • HR Forecast 2024
      • HR Forecast 2023
      • HR Forecast 2022
      • HR Forecast 2021
      • HR Forecast 2020
      • HR Forecast 2019
      • New Age Learning
      • Coaching and Training
      • Learn-Engage-Transform
    • Magazine
    • Reports
      • Whitepaper
        • HR Forecast 2024 e-mag
        • Future-proofing Manufacturing Through Digital Transformation
        • Employee Healthcare & Wellness Benefits: A Guide for Indian MSMEs
        • Build a Future Ready Organisation For The Road Ahead
        • Employee Experience Strategy
        • HRKatha 2019 Forecast
        • Decoding and Driving Employee Engagement
        • One Platform, Infinite Possibilities
      • Survey Reports
        • Happiness at Work
        • Upskilling for Jobs of the Future
        • The Labour Code 2020
    • Conferences
      • Rising Star Leadership Awards
      • HRKatha Futurecast
      • Automation.NXT
      • The Great HR Debate
    • HR Jobs
    WhatsApp LinkedIn X (Twitter) Facebook Instagram
    HR KathaHR Katha
    Home»Exclusive Features»Is it time to reimagine the workwear wardrobe?
    Exclusive Features

    Is it time to reimagine the workwear wardrobe?

    Nandini Sen | HRKathaBy Nandini Sen | HRKathaSeptember 19, 2022Updated:September 19, 20226 Mins Read6621 Views
    Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
    Share
    LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

    The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped work life the world over. The idea of flexibility at the workplace has more or less entrenched itself even as employees are transitioning out of working from home. However, has flexibility equally permeated workplace sartorial norms?

    Well, it may be worth remembering that many may not be willing to let go of the indescribable comfort of working from home, even when they’re not working from home. So, are Indian workplaces ready to see employees saunter into office in T-shirts, tank tops, ripped denims, and sweatpants? HRKatha spoke to some Indian HR leaders to find out their take on the subject.

    “Smart dressing, not formal dressing is the need of the day”

    Thabitha David, CHRO, Sterling Holidays

    Dress code is a symbol

    Although corporate spaces have traditionally adhered to a formal dress code, the tacit imposition of dressing rules came into question even before the pandemic.

    Back in 2019, Goldman Sachs sent out an internal memo announcing it was time ‘to move to firmwide flexible dress code’, while simultaneously advising employees to “exercise good judgment in this regard”. While the message could be described as ambivalent, it did seem to hint at embracing more relaxed dressing at work, a semi-eschewal of the once-sacrosanct business suits and pumps.

    At about the same time, Virgin Atlantic also relaxed its dress code for female flight attendants. Mark Anderson, executive vice president of customer, Virgin Atlantic, was quoted as saying that the changes were prompted by a company survey of employee preferences. The changes, he remarked, would offer female flight attendants “an increased level of comfort” and “more choice” for expressing their individuality.

    Manish Sinha, SVP and CHRO, Mahindra and Mahindra Automotive Business, echoes a similar view. According to him, allowing employees to dress as they like to at work is widely interpreted as granting freedom, respecting their individuality, and most of all, making them feel they can be themselves, unbound by conformity to a specific code or culture.

    “An employee should not be sloppily dressed, or in a way that is overly casual”

    Pia Shome, chief people officer, U GRO Capital

    However, Sinha is quick to warn against the dangers of stereotyping organisations on the basis of their dressing conventions. “Just because an organisation follows a more traditional dress code, doesn’t mean an employee’s voice isn’t respected, or it has no understanding of diverse perspectives, or is close-minded,” he opines. He goes on to add, “I feel this is just an inference. The dress code at an office is like a symbol; multiple meanings can be read into it”.

    Importance of power dressing

    Sartorial choices at the workplace aren’t just about expressing individuality. The idea of ‘power dressing’ evolved in the 1970s to enable women to display authority and competence in contemporary male-dominated workplaces, while at the same time appearing feminine and de-emphasising their sexuality. Its relevance continues, what with scores of experts still equating the idea with confidence.

    Stressing the importance of the right combination of power dressing and grooming at the workplace, Pia Shome, chief people officer, U GRO Capital, describes power dressing as “any outfit that one derives power from”.

    “Of course, people should wear what they feel like, what looks good on them, and what they are comfortable in. However, a sense of discretion, a measured freedom of expression, should prevail,” opines Shome. She further underlines the importance of time and occasion, remarking that people dress differently with friends, at pooja ceremonies, at a funeral, or when elderly members of the family are around. “Likewise, an employee should not be sloppily dressed, or in a way that is overly casual. There is nothing restrictive about it,” she adds.

    “Just because an organisation follows a more traditional dress code, doesn’t mean an employee’s voice isn’t respected, or it has no understanding of diverse perspectives, or is close-minded”

    Manish Sinha, SVP and CHRO, Mahindra and Mahindra Automotive Business

    A similar opinion is voiced by Thabitha David, CHRO, Sterling Holidays. “The workspace is not one’s personal space,” she points out. “Stepping inside one’s workplace is like switching on a different mode – a sombre, focused, work-oriented outlook. Sporting slippers, or Bermuda shorts, or Hawaiian shirts to the workplace will viscerally trigger feelings of relaxation and leisure!” she quips.

    However, David isn’t enamoured of traditional workwear – suits, ties, pencil skirts, the works – either. “Smart dressing, not formal dressing is the need of the day,” she feels. She defines smart dressing as appearing well-groomed, wearing ironed, sharp, chic and comfortable outfits, and polished shoes.

    “Ultimately, it’s not about others; it’s about oneself. One’s attire has a subliminal effect on the mind, and should consequently enable one to give one’s best at work,” she underlines.

    Sartorial inclusivity

    Kavita Singh, CHRO, United Breweries, enunciates a slightly different opinion. “Casual dressing has become the norm across sectors,” she says, going on to opine that diversity and inclusion must encompass sartorial freedoms. “Dressing is about who one is; about being oneself. What’s wrong with wearing a round neck T-shirt to work?” she questions. “Unless of course it is faded, fraying, torn, or shabby,” she adds.

    According to her, the word ‘allowed’ connotes authority and dominance. “Should such choices be dictated by an organisation?” she asks.

    Citing the example of Facebook co-founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg – who has long been known for wearing the same gray tee and jeans to work every day – Singh elucidates how no-frills, understated casual outfits don’t necessarily come in the way of bringing one’s best to work.

    “Casual dressing has become the norm across sectors”

    Kavita Singh, CHRO, United Breweries

    “Recently, I went to deliver a talk at IIM Udaipur. My remark that casual dressing would be a norm was met with a resounding round of applause from the audience, comprising 400+ students,” recounts Singh, suggesting the wide preference for casual dressing among Gen Z individuals, the workforce of tomorrow.

    But just how far Indian organisations would be willing to let workers push the envelope in terms of casualwear in the next decade begs another debate.

    “Many organisations may not approve wearing shorts and flip-flops to work. However, there aren’t too many nowadays that categorically forbid jeans and T-shirts,” notes Sinha, alluding to the near-universal acceptance of the business casual and casual chic at workplaces.

    So, for now, it is business casual all right. Looks like it may be a while before the sweatpants, joggers, and grunge-style plaid shirts – unbuttoned, oversized, and what have you – make their appearance at Indian workplaces.

    chief people officer CHRO Kavita Singh Mahindra and Mahindra Automotive Business Manish Sinha Pia Shome Sterling Holidays SVP and CHRO Thabitha David U GRO Capital United Breweries wardrobe workwear
    Share. LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
    Nandini Sen | HRKatha

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    3 × four =

    Related Posts

    Mahindra Holidays turns to local communities for talent as India’s hospitality schools empty out

    July 15, 2025

    Torrent Pharma appoints Manish Kainth as CHRO

    July 14, 2025

    Why ‘Centres of Excellence’ can hollow out the very culture they’re meant to strengthen

    July 14, 2025

    How a thumbs-up became a generational minefield

    July 11, 2025

    QUICK HR INSIGHTS

    EDITOR'S PICKS

    Mahindra Holidays turns to local communities for talent as India’s hospitality schools empty out

    July 15, 2025

    Why ‘Centres of Excellence’ can hollow out the very culture they’re meant to strengthen

    July 14, 2025

    How a thumbs-up became a generational minefield

    July 11, 2025

    Why HR must unite hiring and development to survive

    July 10, 2025
    Latest Post

    Hemant Rupani of Mondelez International will now be CEO, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages

    Movement July 16, 2025

    Come September 8 and Hemant Rupani will take on the role of CEO, Hindustan Coca-Cola…

    Russia to recruit 1 million skilled Indian workers by 2025

    Global HR News July 15, 2025

    Russia has announced plans to hire up to one million skilled professionals from India by…

    Swiggy unveils 150 crore ESOP plan for employees

    News July 15, 2025

    Swiggy has rolled out a Rs 150 crore employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) as part…

    Reddit post on denied lunch break sparks outrage

    News July 15, 2025

    A Reddit post detailing a lunch break dispute at an Indian workplace has gone viral,…

    Asia's No.1 HR Platform

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn WhatsApp Bluesky
    • Our Story
    • Partner with us
    • Career
    • Reach Us
    • Exclusive Features
    • Cover Story
    • Editorial
    • Dive into the Future of Work: Download HRForecast 2024 Now!
    © 2025 HRKatha.com
    • Disclaimer
    • Refunds & Cancellation Policy
    • Terms of Service

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.