Deborah Aarts of Canadian Business wrote in a blog the modern day acceptable business wear. She comments on the fact that it is becoming more and more common for casual Fridays to be an everyday look. Deborah particularly singled out Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, who chooses to dress in jeans and hoodies for important business meetings and events. She mentions that people of the older generation are finding it disrespectful, and unprofessional, and dressing casually to a business affair reflects poorly on that person. The following link, Mark Zuckerberg Interview on IPO, gives a brief idea of what Zuckerberg has in mind in the form of business attire for an important event.
Personally, I feel that society should come above such traditional views and focus on what is most important. I understand that business is about professionalism, and being appropriate, however, to me, how a person communicates them self, and how they act in a business setting says more about that person than how they dress. This idea simply coincides with the theory of ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’. For instance, people like Zuckerberg can get away with wearing what they want because they do exceptional work. If the idea is outstandingly innovative and market changing, then in my opinion it should not matter what the person is wearing or not. To expand on this, I know from my personal experience that I get my best work done when I am comfortable, and this may mean wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. Now, I wouldn’t go as far to say show up to an important business meeting in sweat pants, but I feel that a person is most confident in what they are most comfortable in. If that means jeans and a hoodie for Mark Zuckerberg, then a round of applause goes out to him, as he is recreating the unacceptable into an expression of confidence.
Sources:
Aarts, Deborah. “Business Casual Has Become a Little Too Casual.” Business Canada. 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS6lJg_qC9I>.
Youtube. “Mark Zuckerberg Gives Twitter IPO Advice.” Youtube. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS6lJg_qC9I>.