Is it time to call a halt to 'casual' behavior?

"Clothes make the man," the old saying goes. One's dress can be taken to be emblematic of one's attitude towards others or the surrounding environment. Or, for that matter, one's work.

That's one reason why even IT types dress up for a job interview. While computer and technology companies are famous for permitting employees to dress down, even in that industry, a job-seeker who arrives for an interview in a T-shirt and jeans is assumed to be less than serious about the job.

But could it be that the more widespread practice of allowing "business casual" dress in the workplace has opened the floodgates to a host of inconsiderate, rude and counterproductive practices at work?

At least one executive coach out there thinks so. In an article in the current issue of Workforce Management on "The Degeneration of Decorum," Jill Brenner, an executive coach in Chicago, blames the rising tide of rudeness in the workplace on casual Friday.

"This whole thing with business casual dressing really caused a shift," Bremer says. "I think casual dressing begot casual behavior and that begot casual communication. I think it’s just been a kind of slippery slope."

And, according to the article, productivity and profits have followed behavior down that slope. The article is short on hard numbers in the latter category, but the soft ones it does have suggest that rude behavior at work must take a toll on the bottom line, for it takes one on workers' time and productivity. Georgetown University Assistant Professor of Management Christine Porath, author of "The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Ruining Your Business and What to Do About It," says in the article that her surveys of thousands of managers and employees revealed that two-thirds said their performance declined after experiencing on-the-job rudeness. In addition, 80% said they lost work time worrying about the incident, three-fourths said their commitment to their employer waned, and 12% quit their jobs over the incident.

It's quite likely that the employees who quit took valuable skills with them as well, further dropping productivity.

And often, the pattern is set at the top: Rude bosses beget rude underlings who in turn are rude to those beneath and around them.

What does this mean for the manager, the executive, and the office overall? First, it should serve as a reminder that little things mean a lot: a friendly greeting to co-workers upon arrival, addressing colleagues with respect, acknowledging favors with written thank-you notes. They may seem insignificant, but they make a huge difference in morale, and with improved morale comes improved effectiveness.

So, it seems, might a dress shirt and necktie.

By Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith has been blogging for BusinessWorkForce.com since 2010. In addition to launching award-winning newspapers and newsletters at the University of Pennsylvania and Widener University, Sandy is a veteran writer whose articles and essays have appeared in several local and regional media outlets, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia CityPaper, and PGN, and on several Web sites. He is also an active participant on several discussion boards, including PhiladelphiaSpeaks.com, where he posts as “MarketStEl.” He has been supporting himself through a combination of freelance and part-time work and unemployment compensation since early 2009 and is himself an active job-seeker. Read more of his posts on BusinessWorkForceBlog.com and follow him to Nexxt for more job opportunities.