When senior account supervisor Kate Kulczyk primps for her workday at Turner, a public relations agency in Midtown, she doesn’t sport a suit. Instead, she and her colleagues are more likely to mingle with clients while donning sneakers and Spandex.
“Gone are the days of oversize sweats,” quips Kulczyk, 30. “Workout wear is fun now! I can wear cute printed leggings and a bomber jacket and still look presentable. While casual, it is still an office setting, and this is New York City, where sidewalks become runways.”
Turner isn’t the only office trading Banana Republic for Lululemon. According to the Society for Human Resources Management 2015 Employee Benefits Survey, 62 percent of organizations allowed casual dress once a week, while 36 percent allowed it every day — a notable increase from the 2014 figures of 56 and 19 percent, respectively.
Though athleisure is informal, Mariana DiMartino, senior vice president at Turner, says it’s not to be confused with sloppy.
“We’re a casual office, but you won’t find associates running around in ill-fitting sweatpants,” she explains. “Athleisure is about versatility and pairing . . . high and low aesthetics. It’s polished, creative and versatile.” Her employees pair workout gear with leather jackets and cute caps, bags or watches.
Melissa Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Chelsea-based retail consulting firm the Lion’esque Group, has a similar dress code — and claims it’s even increased creativity.
“It keeps us more open and flexible, both mentally and physically,” says the 38-year-old. “I get my best ideas when I walk down Fifth Avenue and stand up for a quick yoga stretch at my desk. Being comfortable keeps my energy more open to idea generation.”
Chris Bailey, author of “The Productivity Project,” breaks down the trend: “While clothes are symbolic, they hugely affect how we feel about ourselves as well as our work.” To discover what wardrobe worked best in the office, Bailey rotated his wardrobe among a suit, business casual wear and pajamas every day for three weeks. He charted energy level, motivation and focus related to his outfit.
Results were surprising: What Bailey wore didn’t affect focus or energy — two ingredients essential to productivity — but had “an incredibly strong influence over how confident or relaxed I felt.”
That’s why he says that, when dressing for productivity, decide if your goal is to feel more confident or relaxed. “Wear the clothes that make you feel [how you want to feel]. Confidence and comfort are both ingredients we have at our disposal that allow us to become more productive. And in most situations, one will help us more than the other.”
Mike Slepian, adjunct assistant professor at Columbia Business School and author of “The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing,” explains how this difference occurs. Casual clothing makes workers think less abstractly and more concretely — useful for completing tasks focusing on details such as writing code or planning a product launch. With formal dress, on the other hand, you feel more powerful, because they’re not the type of clothes you’d wear with friends. “That makes you feel more distant, more removed and [allows you to] think in a higher [level].”
But can yoga pants also boost morale and camaraderie? Yes, Slepian reveals. “It comes down to comfort level, and that’s where the camaraderie comes from.”
Joe Silverman, owner of computer service company New York Computer Help in Murray Hill, can speak to that notion firsthand. “Comfort is definitely king in our workplace. I saw our staff [become] 10 times happier and more productive after making the change [to casual wear] a few years back.”
He adds: “Our work is better and service is tops when we feel comfortable in our own shoes: Vans, Nikes and Teva flip-flops.”