Social and Psychological Aspects

Dress and Its Effect As Employees Work-From-Home During COVID-19

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Abstract

Employersimplement and enforce dress codes because it has been shown to increase workproductivity. However, the pandemic changed the meaning of dress codes duringmany months of teleworking. This exploratory study contributes new knowledge onwhether chosen attire while working from home affects employee self-perceivedwork productivity in four areas: quality of work, work ethic, motivation, andmental health. Two studies, a qualitative study (n = 20) performed in June2020 and a survey (n = 116) performed in June 2021, examined employees’ attirewhile working from home. We use phenomenological observations in study 1 anddescriptive statistical analysis and OLS regression to analyze study2. Study 1 respondents shared they feel clothing has a limited directrelationship to work productivity, especially while working from home.Participants more than appreciated the ability to choose their attire freely toaccommodate comfort and maintain focus on work instead of their appearance.

Keywords: attire, work from home, dress codes, work productivity, telework

How to Cite:

Bartosiak, A. J., Hillery, J. L. & Loibl, C. J., (2022) “Dress and Its Effect As Employees Work-From-Home During COVID-19”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 78(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.13462