- Employers are issuing return-to-office mandates — and Gen Z workers don’t know what to wear.
- Insider asked 11 workers how they’re balancing office dress codes with their personal styles.
- Here’s what young professionals are wearing to the office, from Doc Martens to pocket squares.
As companies start to welcome people back to the office, many young professionals may be looking for ways to blend office dress codes, current trends, and their own personal style.
Gen Z workers spent their last years of college and first years of their careers applying for remote positions and choosing outfits for Zoom calls.
Now, as they begin to return to the office, some are scratching their heads over what they should be wearing and turning to social media platforms like TikTok for inspiration.
But some human resource professionals believe that young, new hires are now dressing too casually.
Cindy O’Peka, the owner of O’Peka Human Resources and Consulting, told the New York Post that some of the outfits she’s seen were more “appropriate for clubbing” than a work environment.
Some companies are now taking it upon themselves to remind new hires of what they believe appropriate workplace attire looks like.
Protiviti, for example, told its new hires it was best to ditch blue jeans with rips in them for more professional clothing, the Wall Street Journal reported.
To understand how Gen Z workers are blending their own styles with corporate expectations, Insider asked 11 workers aged 26 and under to share what they’re wearing as they returned to the office.