The first business day after the Labor Day long weekend signifies a few things starting back up: kids heading back to school, the end of beach season, and the kickoff of football season (Or gambling season)! For many people at their employers, it also means the return back to the normal business routine since everyone is done taking their summer vacations. Now your group at work is back to full strength and ready to kick it into high gear and end the last quarter on a high note.
At my employer, this day also marks a return for us back to business professional attire. For me and all other males at this establishment, it means its time to dust of the shirt/tie combos and start practicing that Windsor knot! Being the conservative financial services company that we are, many of the traditions that were employed while this company was first developed are still practiced today. Our conservative and long-term outlook on investment strategy is still the focus today while other companies look to create new sexy financial investment engines(See securitizing+mortgages+stock+market+crash).
While our basic principles for our company have remained the same, the same goes for the conservative culture that we practice and the professional dress code. From Memorial Day to Labor Day we are allowed to dress down, meaning we can ditch the ties. For some reason though, it seems like such a drag when we return back to normal routine. It really is not a big deal, but tons of people make it a big deal. We have heard it a million times, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have”. But I am beginning to think at this place that more people do not like the job they have and have no idea with what job they want.
How do you dress for the job that you are just happy to have? For a company with over 13,000 employees and years of tradition, this place has a ton of unhappy campers and bringing everyone back from summer vacation in the fall and telling them to start dressing nicer makes most of these people even more discontent. Me? I really do not mind wearing my shirt and tie everyday, although it adds 15 minutes to my morning routine now, I can deal with it. It actually makes me feel more important than I really am!
5 Comments
The school kids always look excited (with their brand new school supplies and new shoes). However, coming back from labor day to a JOB just aint exciting for me.
I kinda wish I was a kid in school again!
This thought crosses my mind every single day, I wish I could have stayed in college forever but it just isn't practical Ha. As Drake says "Damn, My Reality just set in". It has set in and unless i hit the lottery some day, I will be working every day for the rest of my life.
I dress for the job I want and it seems to be a big issue with those who are comfortable with the job they have. Some people say 'only the boss dresses nice every day' and seem to resent me for this.
I was always taught to dress for the job you want so I will continue to dress 'nice'.
@Lulu I think that is a major thing with some people who are just insecure with their role in the workplace… I got a comment the other day from someone saying "Look at you all professional?" We are supposed to wear ties as it is, God forbid I try snazzy it up a little bit and look fresh. Some people just always feel like everyone is after their shine and are willing to sound like fools to discourage others. `
@ Doctor S
The funny thing is that I work in a very small school and I cannot threaten anyone's job. We do not have a deep heirarchy like some other schools but I guess that some people want to come to work in sweatsuits (really!!! on a MONDAY even) so when I wear my little button down shirt (from Walmart!!!!!! not even expensive stuff) then I make them look bad.
I am reading the post about the boss not knowing how to dress…funny!
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[...] I touched on the topic of how my company was going back to the business professional look with the post-Labor Day weekend passing us. Some people really do resent the whole idea of looking [...]
[...] think it all went wrong when I had to go back to putting the shirt and tie back on everyday. That in itself added a good 20 minutes to my morning. Now, go ahead and throw an extra 3 hours of [...]