RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Research led by a Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) professor is examining the effect of what people choose to wear to work has on their work relationships.
Research done by Jose Cortina, PhD., a professor of management and entrepreneurship at VCU’s School of Business, was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and suggests that an office employee’s clothes affect their coworkers’ perception of their performance at work, as well as their willingness to help them.
“There is no white-collar job for which this issue isn’t important, but there is almost no research on the effects of clothing characteristics on workplace outcomes,” Cortina said. “This is the first effort to develop a comprehensive model of clothing effects at work.”
Cortina and his team identified three major characteristics of office attire that affect perception — formality, provocativeness and fashionability.
“As an observer, one must remember that people in formal clothing aren’t more competent, and people in fashionable clothing aren’t warmer — but we are inclined to think that they are,” Cortina said.
More information about the research done by Cortina and his team can be found on the Journal of Applied Psychology’s website.
