Codes to Live and Work By
Compliance issues can seem arbitrary at times, but they often have a reason, sometimes those reasons are still very applicable, and other times they may no longer be important, but the original rules still linger.
Codes at work
Compliance issues are found in the workplace, depending on the corporation or type of service offered, requirements may be different depending upon the job and what the company wants to promote as their image. Sometimes the rules may be stated, or in other cases, it may just be part of the culture in the company, such as professionals usually wearing suits rather than jeans and t-shirts.
Doctors often wear lab coats indicating not only who they are but in some measure allowing patients to feel confident in them. The retail clerk needs to look clean and neat as they present the public face of the company. There are many dress codes violations that are not acceptable in the workplace because they could prove detrimental to their image.
A business’ public image precedes them and helps create and build their reputation. Can you imagine a surfer showing up to a meet wearing a fully tailored suit with a button-up shirt and tie? If he did, he better have a reason for it that will make a name for himself and “blow the competition out of the water.” Otherwise, he’d just look like an amateur – and not too bright of one at that.
Dress codes and compliance issues are not just about dress, but let’s face it, when you provide a service or sell a product from a brick and mortar location, what employees and leaders wear makes a statement about what is offered and how they feel about it.
Codes in Student Clothing
In less corporate-type life, there is the example of private schools usually requiring students to wear a standard uniform. There are many advantages to this type of dress code. Parents and students can spend less on clothing, so they don’t need as large of a wardrobe. A great advantage to the student is it helps limit any favoritism of students who can afford nicer clothes or more trendy clothes. With an established uniform dress code, the emphasis is placed on learning, not what students wear.
This is a great PR tool as it may save money for parents on clothing allowing them to funnel their money into more important things, including private schools, and helping them on the road to a successful future. It also shows the public in a very visible way that the students attend a private school, something parents may enjoy being known. But for a school, it publicly declares they are private because of the uniform dress code. Without ever having to say a word, the public gets the message that as a private school, they offer a better education.
Dress codes or other compliance rules are usually there because the provide positive impact whenever there is an interaction between the public and those following those rules.
