It may be time to put away the power suit.
According to new research search engine platform Adzuna, casual attire at work is more favorable for employees while business wear is declining.
In less than five years, employers citing casual dress codes rose to 70%, while those asking for business casual attire dropped to 29% the research showed. This uptrend is expected to rise as shows that offices are requiring more “dressy” attire remains relatively low, at only 0.2%.
“In recent years, there’s been a clear shift in how American employees are expected to dress for work,” said James Neave, Head of Data Science at Adzuna in a news release shared with ESSENCE. “As companies continue to adopt more flexible work environments, we anticipate more employers will ditch the suits and ties in favor of casual work attire. Workers’ expectations have changed permanently since the pandemic, with jobseekers now gravitating towards companies offering more relaxed policies that allow them to be themselves, including more flexibility over what to wear to work. Employers are responding by scrapping outdated traditions. It’s part of a wider movement towards greater flexibility, including changes in company culture, increased emphasis on work-life balance, and the rise of remote work.”
This data comes as employees continue to fight the return-to-office movement citing better work-life-balance, money savings and increased productivity as reasons for favoring remote work.
As ESSENCE previously reported, Pew Research survey results show that nearly three since the height of the pandemic, about roughly six-in-ten U.S. workers, say their jobs can mainly be done from home (59%) and prefer to work from home all or most of the time. About 44% also shared that working from home has made it more convenient for them to meet deadlines, and another 72% say working from home hasn’t affected their ability to advance in their job.
Cities like Dallas and Chicago have fully embraced hybrid and also adopted the casual work attire culture in offices.
The report points out that Dallas is the most casually dressed hub in the US, with 84% of Dallas job ads deeming casual clothing the most appropriate; Chicago-based employers also requested employees to wear relaxed clothing to the office, with 66% of job ads with a dress code specifying casual or smart casual attire.