TORONTO - You might consider ditching the flip-flops and cargo pants if you want to get promoted this summer, particularly if you work in financial services, according to a workplace survey on office attire.
Around 41 per cent of US employers surveyed by pollster Harris Interactive for websiteCareerBuilder.com said professionally-dressed employees tend to be promoted more than others and nearly two-thirds have imposed some form of dress ban.
With summer temperatures rising, dress code issues are more likely to come to the fore, said the site's Canada Managing Director Remy Piazza, with 64 per cent of the 2,765 employers surveyed banning flip flops, 49 per cent forbidding mini-skirts and 28 per cent blacklisting jeans.
"Come spring and summer, people finally get to take off the 15 layers of clothing they've been wearing all winter, and that's when some of the dress code issues start to creep in," Piazza told Reuters.
The financial service sector placed the most emphasis on professional dress, with 55 per cent of employers saying that professionally-dressed workers are more likely to be promoted.
IT and manufacturing industries were the most lenient, the survey found. Only 37 per cent and 34 per cent of employers, respectively, said dress code had an impact on promotions.
The most common mistake is dressing in stained, wrinkled or simply inappropriate clothing, Piazza said.
"Don't mistake the office for your local pub - leave the slinky skirts and cut-off shorts at home," he said.
But some dress code violations may be harder to detect than others, said Christa Harbridge of career placement firm Absolute Recruitment in Mississauga, Ontario.
"A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they can wear whatever they want if they throw a blazer over it," she said, adding that denim vests and skirts may be out the question.
"Workplace environments can vary by culture, but we always say it's better to be overdressed than underdressed, especially for job interviews."
More than a third of the businesses surveyed have sent an employee home because they were dressed inappropriately.
"If you're trying to turn a casual summer beach outfit into corporate wear, it just won't work," Harbridge said.
