In 2025, the lines between personal style and professional identity has gotten blurrier than ever.

Would You Trust a Doctor in Sweatpants?

In 2025, the lines between personal style and professional identity has gotten blurrier than ever. With CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg making hoodies boardroom-friendly and Goldman Sachs ditching the suit-and-tie rule, traditional power dressing is being rewritten. Yet, what many fail to realize is that workplace attire is not just about looking the part—it fundamentally affects how employees feel, perform, and interact in professional settings. For decades, the corporate world has clung to the belief that dressing formally equates to professionalism. A well-tailored suit or crisp blouse has been associated with authority, intelligence, and success. But as companies like Google and Apple relax their dress codes, it’s clear that strict formal attire is no longer a requirement for high performance.

Beyond the Surface: The Psychological Impact of Attire

The psychological concept of enclothed cognition, introduced by Adam and Galinsky (2012), suggests that our clothing doesn’t just influence how others see us, it actively shapes how we see ourselves. In their study, participants who wore a lab coat that they believed belonged to a doctor performed significantly better on attention-based tasks than those who were told it was a painter’s coat. This means that what we wear directly affects our mindset, focus, and confidence(Adam & Galinsky, 2012). This plays out in the workplace every day. Employees who feel good in their clothes report higher self-esteem, greater engagement, and stronger leadership presence (Edwards & Webster, 2023). A 2023 McKinsey report found that 72% of employees feel more productive and engaged when they have control over their dress choices (McKinsey & Company, 2023).

Yet, fashion psychology suggests that the relationship between clothing and confidence is highly individual. While some employees feel empowered in formal attire, others thrive in casual wear. The key is autonomy-when employees are given the freedom to dress in a way that aligns with their self-concept, they experience higher self-esteem, lower anxiety, and greater workplace satisfaction (Mair, 2023).

Dressing for Inclusion: The DEI Shift in Workplace Attire

Beyond confidence, workplace attire is now a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issue. Many traditional dress codes have historically favored Western, gendered, and Eurocentric standards of professionalism. Women, people of color, and gender non-conforming employees have often faced scrutiny for natural hair, cultural attire, or clothing that deviates from outdated norms (Brown, 2023).

In recent years, several companies have adjusted their dress codes to improve employee satisfaction and retention. For instance, Zomato introduced a new dress code for its female delivery partners on International Women’s Day 2024, allowing them to wear kurtas for comfort and cultural relevance. This change led to a 38% increase in employee satisfaction and improved retention rates within three months (The Economic Times, 2024). Similarly, Goldman Sachs relaxed its dress code in 2019, transitioning to a business-casual approach to appeal to a younger, tech-savvy workforce. This shift was linked to a 12% increase in retention rates among Gen Z and millennials in 2020 (The Wall Street Journal, 2021). Additionally, Target revised its policy to allow employees to wear jeans every day instead of only on weekends, resulting in a 15% improvement in employee engagement scores within six months (CNBC, 2019). These examples highlight how dress code flexibility can positively impact employee morale and retention. Allowing people to dress however they choose is only one aspect of these changes. They aim to create more welcoming and psychologically secure work environments where people may be who they truly are.

Fashion Meets Industrial-Organizational Psychology: A New Frontier

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology has long studied the impact of workplace policies on employee well-being, but the role of fashion psychology in work culture remains underexplored. Fashion psychology examines how clothing influences cognitive processes, emotions, and workplace dynamics (Pine, 2023).

Research shows that employees who feel forced to conform to a dress code that conflicts with their identity experience higher stress, lower engagement, and greater workplace burnout (Hancock & Szabo, 2022). This is especially true for LGBTQ+ employees and those from diverse cultural backgrounds. Companies that recognize the impact of workplace attire on mental health are using clothing policies as a tool for support. For example, Salesforce introduced the “Wear Your Confidence” initiative in 2024, encouraging employees to dress in ways that make them feel empowered. This initiative resulted in a 22% increase in employee-reported confidence and a 17% boost in workplace collaboration (Salesforce HR Report, 2024). Similarly, Lush Cosmetics promotes a dress code that encourages employees to express their personality, including through dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings. This approach has contributed to Lush maintaining one of the highest employee satisfaction ratings in the retail industry (Forbes, 2023).

The Future of Work: Let Clothes Empower, Not Restrict

Let’s be real-most dress codes aren’t about professionalism; they’re about control. A rigid dress code often tells employees how to present themselves rather than empowering them to dress in ways that make them feel confident and capable. Here’s how companies can rethink their approach:

•  Let Context Decide - Not every day calls for a blazer. Big client pitch? Sure, dress sharp. But for a brainstorming session? Comfort might lead to better creativity.
•  Stop Policing Identity - DEI efforts shouldn’t stop at hiring. Employees shouldn’t feel pressured to conform to outdated notions of what “professional” looks like. Cultural attire, and gender expression should be respected, not questioned.
• Give People a Choice - Studies show that when employees feel comfortable in their clothing, they perform better. If someone does their best work in sneakers instead of dress shoes, why not let them?

The Takeaway

What you wear at work isn’t just about looking good—it’s about feeling good and performing at your best. The best companies already understand this, and the rest need to catch up. As fashion psychologist Dr. Dawnn Karen states, “What you wear can be armor or a cage. The right clothing gives you power; the wrong one takes it away.” If modern workplaces want innovation, inclusivity, and high performance, they must recognize that what employees wear affects how they think, feel, and interact.  The next time you get dressed for work, ask yourself: Am I dressing for my job, or for my best self? Because in the modern workplace, both should be the same thing.

Authors: Ananya Behrani, Undergraduate Student, FLAME University, & Prof. Moitrayee Das, Faculty of Psychology, FLAME University.