Fed employees: Dress code is next wave of annoyance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend at DHS got a dress code a week or two ago: no t-shirts, no revealing clothes, jeans must not have holes.

That's not even a dress code, that's just common sense. What else are the 25 year olds who have never worked in an office before going to complain about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If this results in short skirts and heels, I won't complain.

Exhibit A for why so many women prefer to work at home, and so many men are mad about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just wear nice dress slacks, a blouse and a blazer. Not that difficult.

I do not own any of those articles of clothing. It would be a huge expense to buy that, especially if I had to buy enough to be in the office five days a week.

What are you wearing to work?

Professional people dress professionally.

Her list is pretty basic.

[Anonymous]

Just buy a tuxedo t shirt.

[Anonymous]

Believe it or not pre wfh people with GS5 and GS 7 first jobs had to put together a business office wardrobe. I doubt it was at immense expense. But they were proud to have those jobs and looking forward to being professionals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, FFS. This would be the straw for me ...

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take this to the full extent that jersey dresses and structured athleisure could take me. See if anyone says anything.

This. everything black.

This is me already.

Same. and now it’s just quite fitting given the current environment we’re in. No need to look bright and cheerful when we could be fired on a moment’s notice.

[Anonymous]

We wear jeans (nice ones w a blazer) on Fridays at my agency. Listen if you want me in the office on a Friday, I’m dressing comfortably. Give me back my flexibility-until then, jeans it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Believe it or not pre wfh people with GS5 and GS 7 first jobs had to put together a business office wardrobe. I doubt it was at immense expense. But they were proud to have those jobs and looking forward to being professionals.

There’s a big difference between a business wardrobe (i.e. suits every day) and a business casual wardrobe. The latter is what most federal jobs required pre-COVID. Very, very few GS-5’s and GS-7’s were wearing suits 5 days a week, even in 2010.

[Anonymous]

Try the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Believe it or not pre wfh people with GS5 and GS 7 first jobs had to put together a business office wardrobe. I doubt it was at immense expense. But they were proud to have those jobs and looking forward to being professionals.

Proud and looking forward to being professionals -- that's definitely what all of the actions being taken are encouraging in employees!

[Anonymous]

They better not come after my sideburns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm one of those rare feds that has always worn a suit in the office every day except for Fridays at a couple of agencies (including my current one). It's the norm in my field and at my level. A suit isn't necessary for most jobs but looking professional and presentable is. A minimally-restrictive business casual dress code should hardly be something to lose sleep over.

You must be a very important person.

Or, they must THINK they're a very important person.

Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

So slippers and a bathrobe? I want to work from home, camera off.

this is everything. i'm in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Believe it or not pre wfh people with GS5 and GS 7 first jobs had to put together a business office wardrobe. I doubt it was at immense expense. But they were proud to have those jobs and looking forward to being professionals.

There’s a big difference between a business wardrobe (i.e. suits every day) and a business casual wardrobe. The latter is what most federal jobs required pre-COVID. Very, very few GS-5’s and GS-7’s were wearing suits 5 days a week, even in 2010.

Business dress is a big step up from merely professional. I've never worked anywhere with expectations below business casual - never jeans, for example - but also never worked anywhere that expected business formal on a daily basis. Private firms weren't doing that 20 years ago and neither were agencies. What you typically saw in both places was varying degrees of business casual, plus a blazer that lived at the office in case you needed to dress up for something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I worked at GAO there was a no denim rule. David Walker was known to rush down the hall to inspect fabric if it was that certain blue, lol.
When I worked at CRS, you had to be ready to go to brief staff or Members. Dress and blazer, pants and jacket, suit, no toe cleavage.,
When I worker at OTA most of the time no one cared. They defunded us, lol. Better to dress to expect a client call than know one isn't coming.
Lore from the 80s-90s

In 2012, GAO modified the rules to allow denim on Fridays.

Current GAO employee: they modified it again this year to allow jeans and sneakers. I work in a remote office but two years ago I was in HQ for a week (working with my team, nothing external) and wrote my manager to seek permission to wear sneakers because I had really bad plantar fasciitis and my doctor had told me that I really had to wear my sneakers and orthotics to get better. My manger had recently promoted and said she wasn’t even sure who to ask / how to ask, but assumed it would be fine - which it was.