Common practices that may be alienating your colleagues - Professional Clothing Standards

Regardless of your financial situation, we’ve all been there – you’re at a party or gathering, one conversation leads to another and then suddenly someone says something that essentially means “well it must be nice having a university income.” Annoying, right? Who are they to assume how much you make? And who is perpetuating this idea that everyone in higher education is making the same as engineering faculty at a research institution? And even if we did, everyone has a different life circumstance, so who knows what bills may plague you. Or maybe you are doing great. Point is, assumptions about income can be frustrating.

Despite that loathsome feeling we get when questioned about our income (“Really? But you have a master’s degree!” Yeah, I know, I do it for the students not the money. *polite smile*), it can be easy to shrug it off when it’s someone outside of the work realm because higher ed is a special beast and you only really “get it” if you’re in the circle. But did you know that there are common workplace practices that alienate colleagues with financial struggles all the time? In my next few posts I will highlight ways that I or someone I know has felt of place in my work setting because of our socioeconomic status and a small suggestion for each on how to be helpful. To kick the series off, let’s start with:

Professional Clothing Standards

Here is a situation where my gender performance does me a favor. One way I save money is by not spending a lot on clothing. I buy it when it’s on sale, and even then, I’m fairly minimalist in my closet. I have three dress shirts, three pairs of pants, and two ties. You may recall a few years ago when a TV anchor wore the same suit for a year to prove that sexism puts unfair scrutiny on female anchors. In his experiment, no one ever said a word to him but his female colleagues were judged constantly. In contrast, people have mentioned my outfits to me – I get a compliment almost once a week about my outfit (usually my knit tie, which IS pretty cool) despite the fact that I may have worn the exact same outfit three days before! Where I often cringe is when it gets close to time for a conference (which will likely be a future post of this series) and I realize I don’t have “conference” attire. Business casual. Business professional. Professional. It’s just clothes. I’m still the same person.

Suggestion: If you are in a managerial position, consider highlighting the expectations around dress in the office during the hiring process. Additionally, evaluate the current culture around professional dress and consider if it is necessary for the tasks you perform. If the standard is something that might be more costly and necessary (particularly for recent grads), consider vocalizing support for transition time to acquire the expected clothing over the first few paychecks instead of from day one. Have other ideas? Comment below!

Steve Jenks is an admission counselor at Ithaca College. He is interested in college access and affordability in relation to recruitment, admission, and enrollment practices. In his free time he is an avid paper crafter, puzzler, and calligrapher. You can find him everywhere @CentaurOfAttn