The world of business is changing rapidly. In today’s digital age, typified by lightning speed internet connections, digital communication platforms and HR software, the rigid 9-5, wear-a-suit to the office style of work is becoming increasingly obsolete. More and more of us are taking advantage of the flexibility of this new work landscape and are setting up shop from home. With it being estimated that half of the UK workforce will be working remotely by 2020, according to Smallbusiness.co.uk, it’s easy to see why it’s such a seductive option.
A recent poll revealed that over 54% of people who work from home are happier than when they worked in a traditional workplace. No long commute; no tea rounds; no stuffy suits; no ugly office politics — the perks are seemingly endless. It’s easy to romanticise, but is that the full picture? For those of us who’ve ditched the proverbial ‘day job’ to work from home, the reality isn’t always so rose-tinted. While there may be no long commute, it can be difficult to establish a spatial separation between work-time and downtime; there may be no tea rounds or office politics, but working alone can get lonely, with nobody next to you to bounce ideas off or discuss the latest watercooler gossip with; and, once the novelty of wearing whatever you want dies down, it becomes far too easy to forget that you’ve been wearing the same pair of pyjamas and bed hair for one-too-many days in a row.
But that doesn’t mean you should give up the home business dream just yet. Research shows that dressing right when working from home can be the solution to a lot of these grievances. In this post, we’ll break down why it’s so important to dress for success when working from home and how to do it well.
Striking the Balance: Separating Home-Life from Work-Life
How do you establish a boundary between your downtime and your work time? Back when rigid workplace structures were the norm, it was simple. Monday through to Friday, you would don a suit and head to the office. By the time the weekend rolled around, you rocked a more casual look and steered well clear of the office. Today, for the thousands of people working from home, that boundary has become blurred. You work from home and live at home: chances are, you probably work where you relax and wear the same clothes during the work week as you do during the weekend. There is no clear differentiation between the two and that can be problematic.
If work is home and home is work, you risk always being in ‘work mode’, unable to switch off and frazzled by the new 100 hour weeks you’ve unintentionally adopted. The reverse is also a risk. When you’re constantly at home, you can quickly find yourself forgoing work to binge-watch that series you could never get around to watching while you worked all week, or procrastinating on social media. This means you can never mentally gear yourself up to work. The results of either situation can be catastrophic — if you don’t set clear boundaries, you can find yourself burning out quickly, or sacrificing everything you worked so hard to achieve by not actually doing the work. While it’s a simple concept, the clothes you wear can have a huge impact.
Dr Karen Pine, a fashion psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, explains how fashion plays a big role in the ways we adapt our attitudes and habits: ‘A lot of clothing has symbolic meaning for us, whether it’s ‘professional work attire’ or ‘relaxing weekend wear’, so when we put it on, we prime the brain to behave in ways consistent with that meaning,’ she states. It’s a simple idea. Imagine you’re going out for a run on two different days. On the first, you wear jeans, loafers and a suit jacket; on the second, you are decked out in full running regalia — running shoes, leggings and an aerodynamic top. When do you think you’ll have a better run? Putting on a running outfit signals to your brain that it’s time to run, and so you pound the pavement with focused intention.
The same rule applies to what we wear to work, even if we’re only moving from the bedroom to the living room. Wearing one outfit while you’re working and switching to something more comfortable when your work day is over helps prime your brain for the task at hand, and it’ll also help you relax more when you’re not working, too.
The Science Behind Dressing to Impress
Office politics can get ugly. We all know that work relationships aren’t always easy, but there are times when working from home can leave you feeling isolated and lonely. However many smiley emojis you see on Skype, Slack or Messenger, it never quite matches up to the real thing. Having other people around you helps you to get into your work character — “I’m at the office, surrounded by people who’re working, so I should work”. When you work from home with only the cat for company, it can be harder to transition to the mindset that sees you winning deals and driving profit.
Motivation and engagement at work are intangible and hard to quantitatively measure, but scientific research has revealed some fascinating insights into why dressing for success is far more than an empty slogan. Northwestern University conducted an experiment, in which subjects were asked to take a science test. Half of the participants were given a lab coat to wear and the others wore the clothes they came in. There were no other variables, other than the participants’ fashion choices. The result was that the participants who wore a lab coat significantly outperformed those in their chosen attire. The study conclusively illustrated that clothes change not only other people’s perceptions of us, but, crucially, our perception of ourselves, too. Dressed as scientists, the participants tricked themselves into believing that they were better at science.
A separate study at the University of Hertfordshire corroborated these findings. This time, participants were asked to wear a Superman t-shirt and put through a series of questions and tests. Lo and behold, wearing the superhero slogan made the subjects feel more confident, strong and powerful.
What both of these experiments establish is that the clothes we wear have a cognitive influence on our behaviours. So, if you want to succeed at work, you need to dress for it. If you dress like a boss, you will feel like a boss. If you dress like a slob, you’ll feel like a slob and your productivity and success will dwindle. It’s the scientific evidence we need to prove that ‘faking it ‘til you make it’ really does work.
What to Wear
There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to dressing for remote work: your home, your rules. But the one takeaway is to be consistent. Have a designated outfit or style for your working hours that is different from what you wear the rest of the time. This doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit while you’re sat on your sofa or at your desk, especially if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Mark Zuckerberg famously swears by wearing flip-flops and a hoodie at the office, while Steve Jobs became iconic for his jeans and roll-neck look. What you wear is your choice, as long as it is designated as your official ‘work-wear’.
Don’t forget that the small touches can make a big difference. Jeans and a t-shirt, matched with a tailored jacket, will not only elevate your look, but will also add an element of professionalism. If you have an important call with a prospect, wearing a professional jacket may be the clinching factor that allows you to confidently close the sale.
It’s time to brush your hair, get dressed, and get to work.
