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I.T staff spend £30,000 on clothes to fit in with colleagues and avoid ridicule

A new survey from totaljobs has revealed that I.T staff spend more than £30,000 (£54 per month) on clothes to wear for work over the course of their career because of the criticism they face when they don’t fit into the company culture

Research, which saw 500 male and female I.T. workers questions, has discovered that two-thirds (63 per cent) of those working in I.T find it difficult choosing what to wear for work and one in three (32 per cent) have received unwanted comments about their appearance.

Findings also show that when I.T workers dress casually, a fifth (20 per cent) have been told they look tired and 13 per cent have been asked if they were sick.

Remarkably, the findings also show the average worker within the I.T. sector spends five months of their life thinking about what to wear to work.

Key highlights from the survey:

  • I.T. workers will spend an average of £54 per month on clothes to wear for work. This is equivalent to £648 a year, or £30,456 over the span of their career
  • 1 in 3 (32%) workers have been subject to unwanted comments about their appearance at work
  • I.T staff spend £30,456 on clothes to wear for work over the course of their careers
  • I.T staff spend five months of their life thinking about what to wear for work
  • Two-thirds (63%) find it difficult choosing what to wear for work – 1 in 3 say it leads to stressful decisions
  • 1 in 3 (32%) have received unwanted comments about their appearance at work
  • 1 in 4 (24%) feel pressure to dress a certain way because of company culture – 24% feel pressure from their managers
  • 13% feel there is a lack of clarity about company dress code
  • 12% have no idea what management want them to wear

David Clift, HR director at totaljobs, comments: “This study really indicates the uncertainty around dress codes and how it is leading to greater numbers of workers worrying about what they wear and what it potentially says about them.

“We hope that by revealing these findings, employers begin to understand how important it is to outline exactly what is expected in terms of the attire their employees wear to work. Ideally, this would contain specific guidance would help both male and female employees to feel more comfortable in what they wear at work. We are keen that employers actively look at ways to develop a gender-neutral dress code.”

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