Can you be described as dressing for success when you work from home? Be honest: If you work from home, do you put on work clothes before logging hours in your home office? It’s likely that pajamas and loungewear are more common than business casual for the freelancers among us. And there are plenty of us out there: According to Forbes, we’ve entered the era of the nontraditional worker, with more 53 million claiming freelance status in the United States today. With so many freelancers working from home offices, coffee shops, and co-work spaces, dressing up for work has hit an all-time low.
In this ounce of Persuasion fast chat, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson review an article from Fast Company by Stephanie Vozza, titled “What Happened When I Dressed up to Work from Home for a Week.” For one week, Vozza swapped her ultra casual work-from-home wear for business casual, and she recorded the impact it had on her work. The difference it made was remarkable. Vozza admitted to greater focus, energy, and work/life balance. All these benefits align with findings from several research studies, and raises the question of what we lose when we gain freedom from the mandates of a corporate dress code. It seems the link between body/mind/soul is strengthened in these findings; how we tend to and dress our physical selves has a tremendous influence on our mental and emotional states. It seems that how we dress our bodies signals our brains to prepare for the day ahead. What we wear can set us up for a productive day at work—even work in a nontraditional setting.
Listen to Persuasion Episode 73: Dressing for Success When You Work from Home
More from Episode 73:
Follow Erin Straza on Twitter: @ErinStraza
Follow Hannah Anderson on Twitter: @sometimesalight
What Happened When I Dressed up to Work from Home for a Week by Stephanie Vozza, Fast Company
The Rise of the Freelancer Economy by Brian Rashid, Forbes
Theme music by Maiden Name.