The Irish branch of global bank Citi is to ditch formal work attire for the months of July and August.
Staff at the bank, which has operations in 21 countries across Europe, have been instructed that the institution is implementing casual dress for every day of each month.
It’s understood staff were told the company would be more active in terms of organising after work activities during the summer months, and that casual dress might therefore be appropriate.
However, the bank, apparently keen that the new policy not be abused, insisted staff must continue to dress appropriately at all times. Staff that are confused or unsure as to what constitutes appropriate attire were directed to a dress code policy.
However, customers to the bank, which is located in the IFSC, are unlikely to be greeted by staff in Bermuda shorts anytime soon. The bank stressed to employees that anyone meeting clients must dress formally.
Any abuse of the new policy could lead to it being axed, the bank added.
Research on whether dress codes improve productivity is unclear. While some has found that dressing casually promotes a more relaxed attitude to work and lowers productivity – other studies suggest that wearing casual clothes increases productivity by up to 40 per cent.
In light of this, more companies have introduced casual dress codes for staff. Last year, Starbucks scrapped its strict dress code and encouraged employees to show off "personal expression" in the workplace by inviting baristas to wear clothes that reflect their style and to "make a statement with their hair colour".
Furthermore, Citi isn't the only corporate organisation to relax their dress codes: technology company Lenovo, and branches of Unilever, have swapped strict business attire for T-shirts, dresses and casual trousers.
In one study, an airline management company decided to change its staff dress code to a casual uniform, khakis and T-shirts, in place of the usual formal suit.
In casual dress, the behaviour of the flight attendants became less professional and they became more negative about their ability to perform the role.
The customers’ behaviour towards the flight attendants also changed – they were more polite and respectful when they wore a uniform.
