Wal-Mart employees were recently told that the giant retailer would be easing up on its dress code.
The decision is an example of what retail consultants see as a broader easing up, even if a mild one, by employers on the dress codes of front-line workers.
In addition to khaki or black pants, Wal-Mart employees will now be able to add black- or khaki-colored denim pants to their work wardrobes. While employees still have to wear blue or white collared shirts and Wal-Mart vests, those who work more physically demanding jobs will be able to wear bluejeans and T-shirts. And the company will have "associate engagement days" where workers can wear items such as sports jerseys.
"Retailers and employers are becoming more accommodative," said Burt Flickinger, managing director of the consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. "The trend is definitely evolving toward more casual."
Wal-Mart's dress code change, combined with other moves to adjust the thermostat and change up the music piped into the retail behemoth's stores, is also an example of an increased focus on "soft benefits" for front-line workers, according to retail consultant Neil Stern. As the economy improves and the job market heats up, more employers are looking for ways to keep their employees from jumping ship for other jobs.
"When you start to compete for workers, there's both hard and soft benefits," said Stern, a senior partner at McMillan Doolittle. "The hard benefits are what I am going to pay you. But people are also paying attention to all the other quality-of-workplace environmental issues that go along with it."
He also said more companies are relaxing policies to cater to millennial-age employees. While young people's struggle against dress codes may seem ages-long, the size of this generation and its members' much-researched desire to work for companies that align with their values, has many businesses rethinking their policies.
"I have a great picture in one of my presentations of a Whole Foods worker tattooed and with many earrings," Stern said. "If you don't allow them to have some freedom, they're not going to work for you."
Some are making mild adjustments to attract young workers.
The retailer PetSmart changed its dress code last year to allow "appropriate" visible tattoos -- those not containing profanity or nudity -- as well as some jewelry and piercings.
In October, Starbucks also relaxed its tattoo policy and started allowing small nose studs, larger earlobe piercings, black denim, untucked shirts and personalized name badges.
"We want to build a company where self-expression, empowerment and inclusion are nurtured," a company executive said in a letter to employees.
Others are making the adjustments for different reasons, such as to reflect a new strategy or new corporate management.
In April, after a leadership change, the preppy-chic retailer Abercrombie & Fitch softened its notoriously strict guidelines, saying workers now simply need to be "neat, clean, natural and well-groomed." Previously, the policy had specific restrictions even on hair color and fingernails.
Its former dress code made news because of how restrictive it was and because of the legal woes it caused the company. Recently the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who said she had been denied a job at the retailer because she wore a head scarf. Abercrombie & Fitch said in a statement that the court didn't determine that it had discriminated against the woman and that the company was deciding its next steps.
Still, some company dress codes remain very specific, and some employers have loosened standards only to tighten them again later. The Huffington Post recently reported on the dress code for the sandwich chain Jimmy John's -- it stipulates no high-top sneakers, no dress shoes that don't have black or brown soles, and no jeans with "excessive stitching" on the backs.
The company's guide includes photos of exactly what shade of khaki pants are acceptable for its sandwich makers and delivery drivers, and says workers may wear only one "cause bracelet," noting that it must be "professionally made, for an approved national cause, must be no wider than ½ inch, must be all one color and must be the 'rubber' style." When contacted, the company had no comment about the policy.
Department store J.C. Penney Co., meanwhile, has revived some degree of formality in its dress code, after former chief executive Ron Johnson relaxed it in his wide-ranging efforts to overhaul the company.
Liz Dunn, founder of retail consultancy Talmage Advisors, said that under Johnson "it was really difficult to see who even worked there. You can't go too far with it. It's important to let people have some freedom of expression, but at the basic, basic level, people need to be able to identify that you work there."
While the twin goals of identifying workers and conveying a brand image will always play a role in corporate dress codes, there are some signs that consumers -- in addition to employers -- are OK with scaling it back a bit.
The loosening of dress codes "is related, at its core, to changing consumer impressions of what a professional person looks like," Dunn said. "People don't have as many hang-ups as they used to about tattoos or beards or different religions. There are changing consumer norms, and that's being reflected."
SundayMonday Business on 06/14/2015