Worklore #12: The Office Dress Code - RIP

The snappily-dressed interviewee waiting at reception looked admiringly after a tall, arresting male in an impeccable suit who swept into the office with the general air of a busy managing director and vanished into an adjacent corridor. “Is that someone  terribly important ?” he asked the receptionist, who, without pausing in her typing, replied, “No, he’s an intern.” “Wow!” replies the wannabe employee. “Then why does he dress that way ?” “Because he would someday soon like to become someone very important." A bit later, a gentleman with dishevelled hair and stubble emerged from a door and crossed into a room at the other end. The first button of his shirt was undone, a sleeve was rolled up, and most of the shirt was sticking out of the back of his trousers. The interviewee looked after him with disfavour. “Wow! What a slob ! Who IS that, the  janitor ?” The receptionist glared at the candidate balefully: “That’s the Chairman of the Company.” “Jeepers ! Why is he dressed like that ?” “Because he has already become someone very important.” Anachronistic anecdote, isn’t it ? I heard it decades ago.  Today, when you walk into an office, how do you tell who’s who ? Where did the workplace dress code go ? And do we even need it any more ?