A Polo Shirt, Please
16 04 2009A couple friends of mine who have worked together were recently discussing the first time they worked together, and I was listening in. It went a little something like this:
ANDY: The first time you called me for work, you called me to remind me that I needed to at least wear a collared shirt and a decent pair of jeans.
ERIC: Yes, I had previously had a very bad experience with a young guy. He showed up at an event in a “No Blood For Oil” t-shirt that was bound to irritate half of my customers, and then proceeded to do his homework instead of the fairly simple job I had assigned to him.
ANDY: I don’t roll that way, so I found myself a little bit offended until you told me about that.
ERIC: Yeah, I didn’t know what to expect and didn’t want another debacle.
Two things about this exchange that I want to highlight:
1. Eric is my age, and he has already learned one of the lessons that so many managing Generation Y are learning: You have to set clear expectations. While some like Andy will find themselves mildly offended that you are telling them something they already know, it’s much better than the debacle that could ensue. Remember: vague, subjective directives like “dress appropriately” or “wear something nice” are not useful, as some people actually believe that their ratty Grateful Dead t-shirt is as appropriate at work as it was when he was at the show. Clear, objective standards like “wear a polo and a clean pair of pants” are much easier to convey, understand, and follow.
2. Note, also, that by explaining why he was setting the expectation so clearly he managed to solve the problem of offending someone who already knew better. We used to do this same thing when I taught the training class at a restaurant. One of our talking points was “Don’t steal money from the cash register.” I know… shouldn’t have to say it, right? But we said it, and we always told the people in the class that they needed to be told because other people had done it. Remember a nightmare you once had with a Milennial? Use it as a training tool now, so that you can reach your young employees.
The other thing that this conversation points out is how the work place has changed in fundamental ways that don’t even register until they become an issue. Dress codes is one of them. It used to be taken for granted that people would dress a certain way, there was a certain uniform that was mandatory and pretty much standard. Now? Who knows. How we address people is another issue. Everybody, managers and workers, were Mr. or Mrs. or Miss or Ms. and Sir or Ma’am. Now? Everybody’s John, Bill, Janey, Maggie. There’s an informality in relationships that’s presumed as a right rather than a privilege to be earned through accomplishment and advancement.
I’m not saying that dress codes or formality in address are right or wrong; I’m just noting that it makes work place expectations and relationships that much more prone to misunderstanding and miscommunication and makes the necessity for clarity and consistency in establishing and enforcing expectations that much more critical.