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Dress codes as a corporate disadvantage - Dress codes can apparently make a company unattractive! Having little to no dress code is reportedly better for attracting young, innovative minds who spent more time honing their skills than learning how to dress for the part.

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Take Apple, for example - The late Steve Jobs reportedly walked around the Apple offices barefoot. The company is known for its carefree approach to dress codes, and the freedom of expression that Apple offers its employees seems to have translated into their innovation and creativity at work.

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As well as Google - Google is an enormous company whose offices are famously filled with fun, but one of the company’s especially unique philosophies includes the phrase “you can be serious without a suit.” Employees reportedly show up to work in fairy wings and other creative, self-expressive outfits, but the company isn’t suffering for it.

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Dress codes often push sexist gender notions - Many companies are coming under fire for, however legally, requiring their female employees to wear heels, skirts, makeup, and so forth while also restricting men from wearing anything other than pants, closed-toe shoes, and short haircuts.

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Companies could face legal action - New laws are cropping up and actually prohibiting employers from enforcing “gender-specific” dress, and more people have the ability to take a company to court for discriminatory regulations.

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Strict rules limit a company’s flexibility - For firms that have a wide range of companies among their clients, they’ll want to match their dress to a particular client on a given day, which would require a flexible dress code to match. Strict attire could actually mean losing business!

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Dress codes aren’t attractive to most people - According to Silicon Republic, the majority of millennials, who happen to make up more than half of the global workforce, favor a casual dress code, and other more general employee surveys have shown similar results.

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Uncomfortable work wear lowers productivity - The Accountancy looked at research from the Neuroradiology Journal which determined that men in suits have less blood flow to the brain which, besides being very dangerous, could also lead to reduced productivity and motivation.

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Loosening the grip shows trust - Many occupational health experts argue that employers should trust their employees enough to let them dress how they please, and that specifying what employees must wear comes off as patronizing.

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Valuing appearance over work - Many say that staff should be judged based on the quality of the work they do, rather than how good they look doing it.

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An added cost for employees - Work dress codes usually entail employees having two separate wardrobes, one for work and one for leisure, which can be a burden.

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Facebook’s interesting approach - Where most companies have casual Fridays, Facebook apparently does corporate Fridays. Silicon Valley is filled with casual-dress tech companies, and when Facebook tested out the Friday twist, it was the first of the industry’s kind. Employees could break from their everyday hoodies and try out something a little more professional-looking.

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Potential challenge for people with disabilities and illnesses - Chronic illness and disability, both hidden and visible, may struggle with a strict dress code, but may not feel confident in asking for exemption from the dress code.

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Dress codes can make things quite boring - Making everyone dress the same can add a certain dullness to the day and to the work environment, and when creativity is stifled right at the beginning of your morning, it can make it more difficult to draw out creativity later on.

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The benefits of having a dress code - It certainly adds an image to your company, whether that’s becoming known for stylish flight attendants, or giving your clients a very particular expectation.

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For example, the Disney look - Disney parks are known to have one of the strictest dress codes, allowing facial hair for the first time in 2000. Though it’s not as rigid as it once was, the dress code (even pertaining to hygiene and grooming) makes sense for the Disney brand, as each employee is a character in their fairy-tale, family-friendly park.

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The benefits of having a dress code - It’s unifying and immediately identifiable. Take, for example, Starbucks employees. You immediately envision those green aprons, but you probably didn’t know that its iconic image was deliberate. The company has a strict set of rules when it comes to the apron, including keeping it wrinkle- and stain-free.

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You avoid people’s wide interpretations of “casual” - At a basic level, employees' ideas about the meaning of terms like “business casual” or “smart casual” might not match up with your company’s intention.

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The “dress for success” attitude - Having a dress code has roots in the idea that what you wear has an effect on how you conduct yourself, and for many people this idea still works.

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Dress codes can level the playing field - If done correctly and with a gender-neutral approach, dress codes can diminish or eliminate the display of social status, authority, and significance of the various hierarchies of employees. Though creative expression is limited, the theory is that people will look and feel more equal.

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There are, of course, safety benefits - If you’re working in a more manual, factory, or health-related industry, there are some obvious requirements like wearing gloves, tying back hair, and wearing appropriate fit clothes to ensure the process and product are not disrupted.

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Clarifies employer’s expectations - Having a dress code can also help employees stick to the standards of the organization.

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It saves time and creates mental space - If employees are not concerned with how they choose to express themselves visually every morning, or deciding where they fall on the business casual spectrum, they’ll be less concerned about their own appearance at work and save a couple minutes in the morning.

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It boosts confidence - Having a unified look can boost the confidence of employees, as they can be sure of their impression. For example, the owner of a restaurant will feel confident speaking to customers as his/her team looks smart and unified.

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It all comes down to individual companies -

While strict dress codes are clearly falling out of favor as benefits of casual attire are simultaneously rising, it all depends on what the company needs, and if they can convincingly present their case to their employees.

See also: The best countries for work-life balance.

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