Platform: A tie does more than merely save your neck in a downturn

Published on Thursday 19 November 2009 21:55

THIS being Friday, it's a safe bet that many of the executive types going about their business on Edinburgh's fashionable George Street today will be missing one accessory to their well- tailored suits – a tie.

This is in sharp contrast to another New Town location where every male employed in our company's Edinburgh headquarters is sporting a tie; "dress down days" do not apply here – not on this or any other Friday.

Before the tieless look became fashionable, such a company policy was considered unnecessary because attending the office without a tie was virtually unthinkable. Now it increasingly seems to be the norm.

Part of the reason for employer acquiescence may be down to sheer weariness in the face of a raft of employment legislation, increasingly biased in favour of the employee, which has been introduced by parliament over the past decade. And why worry about how the workforce dresses if the work itself is getting done?

Conversely, some enthusiasts for the open-neck shirt look are themselves bosses and in their offices what was once "dress down Friday" now includes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as well.

Almost inevitably, we too have faced pressure, both internally and externally, to relax our policy; happily, it now seems that companies that operate a dress code similar to ours will soon no longer need to explain or justify their actions. According to a major fashion retailer, as The Scotsman reported this week, the tie is making a comeback, because office workers are striving to look more professional in the hope it will help them hold on to their jobs.

This is welcome news, albeit with the caveat that fearing for one's job should not be the reason for wearing a tie.

Although ties are an essential part of the business uniform we have never required staff to wear them for aesthetic reasons alone. Putting on a tie in the morning – and getting the knot right – is about taking pride in one's appearance and, by implication, in the job, too. This gives a signal to customers that, by making an effort to appear professional, staff members with whom they come into contact are likely to act in a professional manner as well. Even our back -ffice male employees are expected to wear a tie as they may have to deal face-to-face with clients or members of the public without notice.

Appearance, in my view, is as important as punctuality in setting the tone for conducting business successfully.

Therefore, I'd like to think that professional men are starting to warm to the collar and tie again because the combination makes them look and feel smart and not just because they hope it reduces their chances of being targeted for redundancy. A stricter dress code in the office need not mean a return to the uncomfortable starch collars of the 1950s and 1960s. The 1980s were a great experimental fashion decade but despite this a collar and tie was always de rigueur for men doing business.

In practical terms, ties need not be necessary apparel in all offices, for example call centres, where direct contact with the public is by telephone. However, there seems to have been a general lowering of standards in dress sense, with the difference between "smart casual" and "sloppy" increasingly blurred.

As a slovenly appearance can sometimes mirror an attitude to the job, the return of the tie may have benefits beyond the "front of house". If its effects ripple out to the rest of the non-manual workforce then the result could be not just smarter offices but more productive ones as well.

&#149 David Alexander is proprietor of DJ Alexander estate agents.