Dressing for work: you're not wearing that are you?

Inappropriate?

It's fair to assume that getting dressed in the mornings shouldn't pose much of a problem for most office workers, but interestingly, several recent studies into the area suggest otherwise.

According to Tulane University professor Arthur Brief, for instance, women who wear short skirts that display "a lot of leg" may be overlooked for promotion and pay increases.

Brief's warning was based on a recent study he conducted with a number of colleagues at the New Orleans University, which came about after the team searched several recent studies and literature and found little about the consequences of sexy dressing and sexual behavior at work, (most available research studied sexual harassment) and so decided to study the area themselves.

Negative consequences

The report, which was carried out roughly five years ago and was the first study to make plain the negative consequences of such behavior, suggested that women who send flirtatious emails, wear short skirts, or massage a man's shoulders at work win fewer pay raises and promotions.

According to the study, 49 percent of 164 female MBA graduates said that they had tried to advance in their careers by sometimes engaging in at least one of 10 sexual behaviors, including crossing their legs provocatively or leaning over a table to let men look down their shirts.

Conversely, the other half (51 percent), who said they had never knowingly engaged in such activity, had earned an average of three promotions, versus two for the group that had employed sexuality.

In terms of salary that equates to those who said they never used sexuality on average earning between $75,000 to $100,000, while the others fell, on average, in the next-lowest income range, $50,000 to $75,000.

A fine line

Of course, its fair to point out that - given that the study was carried out almost half a decade ago - attitudes as to what is appropriate or inappropriate dress in the office have likely changed. As has the promotion gap.

After all, offices are now saturated with gifted, forward-thinking workers as the War for Talent era rumbles on. As such, one thing that remains crystal clear to HR managers is that there is a fine line between what clothes makes a co-worker stand out in the office and what makes them look outrageous and inappropriate.

The fact is that the way you are dressed is the first thing people see when you walk into a room. And, according to analysts, putting together a wardrobe of elegant, contemporary and individual clothing is a day-to-day challenge, especially in a work environment.

The advice? Create a capsule wardrobe. While this might sound like something from the world of the TV makeover show, it effectively allows you to ensure that you begin to build a really good working wardrobe which co-ordinates throughout and where you can put together several different outfits from just a few quality garments.

In short, your clothes reflect your personal brand identity and they should also consistently reflect the job you want - as well as the job you’ve got.

Evidence suggests that many women are familiar with this concept already, and subsequently no longer feel that they have to rely on sexuality to draw attention to themselves as viable candidates for promotions and progression; but for the men in the office, clever co-ordination seems to be the key to success.

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