‘Much Ado About Dressing’. Tony Fernandes Row Vs TCS Saying Dress Formal To Office

It is an irony that both news were published on the same day. While Tony Fernandes, AirAsia CEO, in a Linkedin post said he loved the low cost airline's culture where he could get a massage while attending a management meeting, Indian tech giant TCS asked employees to adhere to formal dress code while attending office.

TCS Empowers Newcomers With Dress Code For Office

Traditionally, most companies have followed wearing formal attire during Monday to Thursday and business casual on Fridays. But with time, corporate world slowly changed. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended investors meetings in tees and while that was widely criticised, over time, it is an accepted norm, specially with evolution of the social media industry.

Why Dressing Professionally Matters

A professional dress code can help eliminate subjectivity in wardrobe preferences. Specially for young corporates, who are just out of college, may have different understanding of a professional office environment. To make sure that no matter where an employee comes from they are treated equally as they represent their company, professional dress code helps.

Jobs With No Dress Code

Freelancers, photographers, media professionals usually have no dress code for them. Also, a few US companies had annouced relaxed dress codes like Goldman Sachs and Meta early in 2019. Most Indian MNCs although have strict policy and employees are expected to follow the norm.

Are These Extremes Needed

Social media have reacted to both the news somewhat negatively. Some X, formerly known as Twitter, users commented on TCS' decision and said it was an extreme measure and unnecessary step by the IT company. A few even called out the company to look into its payroll rather than these measures.

On the other hand, Users have equally disapproved AirAsia CEO getting a massage during a meeting. AirAsia's Fernandes was severely trolled on social media for the Linkedin post. A few users also said some conduct is necessary in a professional environment.