Business
is turning its back on casual dressing in favour of more traditional office
attire, according to in the sixth annual Aziz Management Communications Index.
• 39
per cent of UK company directors consider a suit the most appropriate clothing
for the office, a notable increase on last year’s findings.
• The
number of respondents who feel casual dress is the most suitable attire for the
workplace dropped from 56 per cent to 45 per cent.
• Slightly
more than half of UK directors allow staff to wear casual dress on certain
days, such as dress-down Friday.
• The
proportion of employers that require staff to wear formal dress at all times
has increased to 29 per cent from 21 per cent last year.
• Only
one quarter of companies allow staff to dress casually all the time compared to
more than a third last year.
Khalid
Aziz, chairman of the Aziz Corporation, said: "In today’s uncertain
economic climate many employees are finding that dressing well implies they are
more business-like, focused and professional.
"Essentially
no-one is leaving anything to chance – they are covering their backs and are not
giving employers any reason to find fault with them and this extends as far as
the dress code too."
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