Roy Tang

A while back someone I know went from working as a developer to working at a senior/management type position at a bank, and that new job came with the corresponding dress code, which meant he was now going to work in long sleeves or barongs. That kind of thing is not for me - back when I still considered a regular office job, one of the fastest ways to get me to run away from an “opportunity” would be an overly stringent and/or formal dress code.

I was reminded of this because a few days ago, I read an article titled “Enough with the WFH sweatpants. Dress like the adult you’re getting paid to be.", which is like a hilariously bad take. (The account’s social media editor immediately followed up disavowing the tweet and admitting to working from home in his pjs.)

It’s understandable if your job involved salesmanship or meeting with clients and such, but not for ordinary office work. I can fix bugs as easily in a t-shirt and jeans as I can in a suit.

Kind of elitist too. Fancy clothes impractical for commuting or for tropical heat. Reinforces existing power structures. Obsolete signals/ideas of status/power/affluence.

Not saying you can’t dress up if you want, but maybe don’t judge others for not doing so, or otherwise require them to dress up.

I understand the line needs to be drawn somewhere, but why does the line have to be something impractical and not simply comfortable?

Previously.