Recently a senior creative head, who happens to be an owner of a creative shop tweeted something to the effect of ‘ready to step into a pitch presentation.’ Now, he was all dressed up alright, in a smart summer coat and a well-fitted pair of jeans if you care to know, but what really stood out was the fact that it was in his home setting.
The fact that many are switching to taking zoom meeting, even if somewhat reluctantly, points towards the trend that online meeting are here to stay even after the storm has passed. And these professionals are also not shying away from flaunting it to the world through their social media handles. So while these online meetings are only going to go on an upward spiral, the need and the pressure to dress like Milan will ease. Having said that, you can’t be seen in your night gowns, sandos, and other such completely appropriate for home but totally not for work kind of dressing.
So, one needs to dress smartly but to my mind rather moderately for an online meeting. Moderately because dressed in a suit with a tie or a formal top for women might seem like working too hard to impress sort of dressing. The other end of the spectrum is to say appear in a pair of college sweatpants and a Star Wars tee with chocolate stains on it. One can’t possibly appear in front of a client, boss, colleagues dressed in a castaway, disheveled look, even though days of staying locked down in the house might induce that appearance. Dressing up, after all is part of preparing for a meeting. And looking professional.
Because not only people judge you by your looks, but also your dressing is a pointer to your own mental state. There are studies that show that your clothing style affects your cognitive behaviour.
According to a study by psychological scientists at Columbia and California State University, clothing effects not only how others perceive you, but also how we perceive ourselves. If you dress well and smartly, it shows in your behaviour. Your confidence level goes up and your mind tells you that you’re self-assured and in control of the situation. Imagine someone in Armani acting clumsy. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? Studies have shown that dressing up makes you feel up to a challenge, worthy, and capable at a job. That goes for both men and women. Therefore, even if it’s only an online interaction from home, do take the effort to dress up.
Also, the outcomes you are trying to create in a meeting decide the clothes you’re going to wear. An article published in mikogo.com throws light on this interesting aspect. Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinsky conducted a test where they found that there’s a symbolic meaning to the clothes we wear, as well as a physical appearance. They introduced the term “enclothed cognition” in their study. When a set of people were made to wear a lab-cloth they became more careful and attentive as opposed to when they were told that these were painter’s clothes. To put it in the dressing up context, people perceive us according to the symbolic value they attach to the dress.
For all the remote workers out, it’s an important piece of news. Working from the seclusion of your own creative space can make one go slack on the need to dress up to match an occasion. Roald Dahl, the writer was known to only use a very particular kind of yellow pencil to write and he made sure he had six sharpened pencils by his side. That was his dressing up ritual while he worked all his life in a small hut in his orchard. Another remote worker like us. In that light, while remote workers needn’t bother about things like losing their marbles in the city traffic every morning, taking a lift packed like sardines, marking attendance, smiling at colleagues you would rather not, they do need to worry a bit about keeping their wardrobe up to date.
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