Leggings are OK; shorts generally aren’t

80 Percent of Managers Say Office Attire Affects Workers’ Chance of Being Promoted - Talent IntelligenceWhat employees wear to work can influence how likely they are to advance within a company — and ones who are wondering how to climb the corporate ladder may want to avoid sleeveless shirts.

Employers view jeans, tennis shoes and leggings as more acceptable office attire than they did five years ago, according to a new survey.

During the same timeframe, however, they’ve become less tolerant of tank tops, cold-shoulder shirts that expose one or both shoulders and shorts.

Forty-four percent of senior managers have had to talk to an employee about wearing inappropriate office attire; nearly a third (32 percent) have sent staff members home because of what they were wearing.

Thirty-five percent of the professionals who spoke with an employee about their outfit or told a worker to leave and change into less inappropriate office attire felt awkward initiating the conversation.

For more on which gender takes longer to pick out an outfit — and which age group takes more time to get dressed for work — view this information about the survey, conducted by OfficeTeam.