Chromatography Forum

Just curious-

Do any of you have to adhere to a dress code at work?

The first day I showed up to work in a lab (a food/pharmaceuticals lab), about 15 years ago (!) I was told by the temp agency to wear khakis and a shirt and tie, so I did.
I later found out that my coworkers were making fun of me that day amongst themselves..."Hey, check out the serious chemist."

For my previous job at a large corporate laboratory, there was no dress code - I pretty much wore a button-down shirt, jeans and sneakers everyday, even a baseball cap - as long as I wore safety glasses and my lab coat.

I now work in a hazardous materials plant, so it's blue uniforms and steel-toe workboots (although I get away with wearing a pair of beater sneakers).

How about you?


John

My first job 10 years ago required a shirt and tie, no jeans allowed. They eventually relaxed the jeans rule to allow blue or black. They did institute a casual Friday thing so my group started wearing Hawaiian shirts. Within a month the management issued a no Hawaiian shirt dress code. Eventually they relaxed the wearing of a tie issue. Lab coats were a must even if you were at your desk away from the bench!

Same company, different CEOs for 30 years. We could wear Levis and shirts with collars maybe until early 1980s. Then Levis were banned, ties were required for staff, so I had three ties at work (one black-ish, one blue-ish, one brown-ish), and daily chose the tie that I felt matched best. Mid 1990s new CEO ditched ties, but a few still wore them, the feeling here is that those were a feeble attempt to try to make up for their lack of technical expertise. So now I wear $15-$20 cotton pants from Target and a "golf" type shirt everyday. I only wear a lab coat in the one lab that's real cold. They buy us shoes with steel toes, but there's no way I need those in my job, but I don't need to buy shoes for work.

No Levis except on designated special days, or for cleanup work anymore.

My argument has always been that ties restrict the flow of freshly oxygenated blood to the brain...

My argument has always been that ties restrict the flow of freshly oxygenated blood to the brain...

That explains why MBA's wear ties!

In my 10 yrs the dress code for chemists has always been jeans or khakis, shirts with collars, shoes leather (could be tennis shoes or other). All of the companies had a business casual dress code, however the labs were always a dress for the job environment in which case jeans were almost exclusive.

My first job 10 years ago required a shirt and tie, no jeans allowed. They eventually relaxed the jeans rule to allow blue or black. They did institute a casual Friday thing so my group started wearing Hawaiian shirts. Within a month the management issued a no Hawaiian shirt dress code.

Haha! Hilarious! Sounds like a big company with no sense of humor.


John

Khakis & collared shirts, no tie needed; no sneakers or jeans, though I do wear a denim shirt upon occasion (like now).

Our official policy is "business casual" for office staff, company provided uniforms for production staff. No jeans, t-shirts, shorts, etc.
We don't follow that in the lab. Jeans and t-shirts are okay. We have lab coats that we are supposed to wear at all times in the lab. I usually wear older t-shirts, because too many chemicals stain or otherwise ruin clothes. Full leather uppers on shoes, preferably with safety (steal or composite) toes. Company buys shoes for us yearly, so that's easy.
I'm sure someday we'll have to start wearing nicer clothes, but until then I'm gonna wear my Nintendo shirts. And I'm leaving the Futurama sign on my bench that says "A mindless worker is a happy worker, You are not paid to think, Shut up and do your job."
Side note: My boss bought me a shirt for Christmas that said "Sarcasm: Just one of my many talents". How cool is that?

I've always worn nicer clothing than was required for the laboratory environment. My personal reasoning is that if I'm wearing clothing I don't care about, I tend to rush around in the lab and that's when I'll spill something. If I'm dressed in better clothing, I tend to work more deliberately and efficiently.

The company I work for has a business casual dress code, which I interpret as dress slacks or Dockers, usually dress slacks, a long sleeved dress shirt even in summer unless it is very hot, then a company logo polo shirt, leather dress shoes, usually loafers. keep a tie and jacket around for times when appropriate. We have casual Fridays, which I interpret as logo polo shirt in the summer, long sleeve dress shirt in the winter, khakis, and Rockport leather walking shoes.

A lot of people dress more casually than that. I have noted a correlation between casualness of dress and casualness of work habits in many people.

As a interesting side note, when people have been laid off the ones laid off were often some of the ones that dressed most casually, while the ones who dressed better were often retained.

As a interesting side note, when people have been laid off the ones laid off were often some of the ones that dressed most casually, while the ones who dressed better were often retained.

Reminds me of that old saying, "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

Blazer, I hadn't thought of that, but it's true. I guess the updated version would be "Dress for the job you want to keep, not the unemployment line your friends are in."

I have to admit, those last couple posts are making me think about changing the way I dress at work. I do have the advantage of working 2nds shift, with a limited number of people. No big cooperate types hang around this facility after about 2pm.

I was wearing a shirt the other day that has a no-smoking sign on it and underneath says "There are cooler ways to die." While meeting with the soon-to-be head of QA, who smokes... At least I don't wear the shirt that says "Slacker" on it anymore.

university labs (europe) - jeans and (occasionally) white shirt
national lab (usa) - lab coat, safety glasses, gloves when touching chemicals