By Elaine Quayle
Digital media company Captivate Network has issued its latest “Office Pulse Report” on white-collar office worker behavior, and results show that office attire and grooming can be a major distraction for some employees—especially short skirts, tight clothes, cleavage, tattoos, bare legs—and the inevitable flip-flops.
A breakdown of results includes the percentage of workers who reported seeing an item worn or shown in the office, who finds it acceptable, and who finds it distracting.
Short skirts
- 29 percent of people report seeing short skirts worn in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 21 percent of mid-level and junior managers.
- Who finds it distracting: 76 percent of senior managers.
Tight clothing
- 32 percent of people report seeing tight clothing worn in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 28 percent of those over 50 years old.
- Who finds it distracting: 85 percent of women.
See-through clothing
- 14 percent of people report seeing see-through clothing worn in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 19 percent of men.
- Who finds it distracting: 91 percent of women.
Hot pants
- 8 percent of people report seeing hot pants (or short shorts) worn in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 11 percent of men.
- Who finds it distracting: 76 percent of women.
Cleavage
- 45 percent of people report seeing cleavage in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 45 percent of senior managers.
- Who finds it distracting: 87 percent of senior managers.
Bare legs
- 49 percent of people report seeing bare legs in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 58 percent of those over 50 years old.
- Who finds it distracting: 72 percent of men.
Tattoos
- 45 percent of people report seeing tattoos in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 67 percent of 35- to 49-year-olds.
- Who finds them it distracting: 61 percent of those over 50 years old.
Men in flip-flops
- 13 percent of people report seeing men wear flip-flops in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 16 percent of men think they are acceptable for other men.
- Who finds it distracting: 55 percent of women find them distracting on men.
Women in flip-flops
- 30 percent of people report seeing women wear flip-flops in the office.
- Who finds it acceptable: 19 percent of women think they are acceptable for other women.
- Who finds it distracting: 46 percent of senior managers find them distracting on women.
Mike DiFranza, president of Captivate Network, said “Companies must navigate the shifting definition of what’s acceptable to wear in the workplace to minimize distractions without turning employees off with overly stringent policies.”
I don’t understand the one about cleavage. Were the percentages a typo?
I, too, am confused about the reported percentages of the cleavage survey. Either the percentages are incorrectly reported or the group is wrong.
Also, there is a typographical error in the blue box. “Skirts” is spelled “skits”.
Thank you for your comments David and Kristine. It seems as though the original survey question from Captivate Network was not structured as an either/or response.
In other words, while 87 percent of senior managers found clevage in the office distracting, a percentage of that number also believed that it was still work appropriate.
Someone should tell the producers of “House” that Dr. Cuddy’s attire is not professional!