DO WE NEED A UNIFORM?

When I started work as a lawyer (a long time ago!), it was strictly shirt, tie and suit. Shiny shoes. Be smart. If you worked in the professional services sector, you had to look tidy, well-groomed, but above all, smart. You couldn't possibly see a client, without a tie. And always wear your suit jacket. Never roll up your sleeves, not even in the heat of the Summer.

Things are not quite as bad as that nowadays. Take today for instance. It is "Dress-down Friday" at Howes Percival. Why it is called "Dress-down", I have no idea. It sort of implies, that outside of our normal professional skin, we are really all a bunch of scruffs! Mind you, having just viewed one of our corporate lawyers walk past (he is far too trendy for his own good), that view may well be correct. Ripped jeans? Oh come on....!

Nonetheless, there is something decidedly positive about coming to work in clothes that you prefer to wear, rather than adhering to the forced stereotype of a profession. For a start, employees feel more comfortable. Feel more comfortable, and you feel more relaxed. Feel more relaxed and you are likely to be far more effective at your job. You may even find that you work harder, or more creatively. People seem happier too. Dare I say it, engaged even.

Of course, for those that want to wear a suit or smart clothes, they are free to come to work in the attire they choose. The difference is, they are doing so because they want to rather than doing so because it is the expected uniform for what we do.

I visited a professional services business some weeks ago for a presentation. The presentation was all about employee engagement. One of the first things they implemented was the "No Dress Code" rule. From the CEO down, all employees came to work in clothes of their choosing. And not just on Friday. Every day. Obviously, this business introduced a number of other ideas, but as just one change to the norm, the lack of dress code made employees feel liberated, so I was told, and seemingly, more effective.

Take the Winter for instance. Today, we have seen a bit of snow in Leicester. In other parts of the country, the weather is a lot worse. With a strict dress code in place, many professional workers would still have been expected to wear a suit, or smart professional-looking clothing. And you can bet, none of these poor people will be remotely happy. Will they still be effective at their work? Probably. But have you tried wearing smart work shoes in the snow?

And this takes me to the point of this short post. Why do we even need a uniform? Wearing a suit to work does not make me a better lawyer. In the same way, putting on a pair of jeans and a nice woolly jumper that keeps the cold away, together with some sturdy walking boots, doesn't suddenly turn me into a different person. I am still the same lawyer. The difference is, I am more relaxed, more comfortable, and as a result, probably more effective at what I am doing.

During the course of last year, you will no doubt have read a number of articles about tattoos in the workplace, and how job applicants with visible tattoos were being rejected in the professional services market, amongst other sectors. ACAS have even produced guidance on tattoos and piercings in the workplace, saying that negative attitudes towards visible tattoos are outdated and that employers are missing out on potentially great employees because they have drawn incorrect conclusions from how a particular job candidate or employee looks. One survey I read revealed that the director of an accountancy firm told researchers that they would be reluctant to hire people with visible tattoos in case it deterred clients and customers. Really? It doesn't say a lot for what they think about their clients in my view.

Now I know some of you will find this hard to believe, but my clients do not come to me because of the way I look. Trust me on this one! They come to me because they know I will be able to find a solution to their legal problem. And they don't care whether I am suited and booted or, wearing a Bermuda T-shirt. They just want me to help them with their issue.

So I say to myself, what use really is a uniform? Do we need one? Does it define who we really are? Does it make us perform better? Does it improve who we are? I challenge any one out there to answer yes to any of these questions. In other words, it is time we recognised that it is what a person brings to the table in terms of their skills, knowledge, experience or ability that is important, not what they wear. They may wear ripped jeans, but they are still one heck of a lawyer!

Alex Payton, Director and Employment Lawyer, Howes Percival LLP