Sloppy Dressers
T
175 Posts
I work for a company that is very laxed in their dress code. We are an RV club and we can wear shorts (within reason), tennis shoes, jeans, t-shirts, etc. We have a main office where a few ee's deal directly with our members, most of those ee's dress nicer than we require, however, there is one person who wears shorts, within our guidelines, but is somewhat overweight. They look very sloppy and are quite distasteful. Her hair seems greasy most of the time and she just plain looks nasty. She is wonderful with the members, but on the same note, we have had a few complaints about her hygiene and dress. EE's even complain about how sloppy she looks. Since she is within our dress code, what can I say to her to get her to be more conscious about the way she looks? I'm guessing that she doesn't have a clue.
Thanks for any input.
Thanks for any input.
Comments
Messy Mathilda, thanks for coming by my office. I have noticed lately that you have done some great work. In particular, you have been very effective in working with the customers, ridding the RV club of squirrels, and keeping your paperwork up to date.
I really appreciate your efforts and value what you bring to this organization. I hope to see you continue to advance in responsibility whether it is here or some other organization.
There is one aspect to your overall performance that I am concerned may limit your advancement and that might be keeping people from seeing what a valuable member of our team you are. That are is your appearance. As you know, how we look says alot about us. When we dress nicely, it sends a message that we are competent and professional.
I am concerned that your appearance doesn't really represent you well and I would like to talk with you about that. I would hate for this to limit your effectiveness here or keep you from advancing in our organization.
Then you would probably want to get specific. Expect some resistance but try to frame it in a positive way: this is for her benefit!
Good luck. These are not my favorite type of conversations.
Paul
I am guessing that the "sloppy" look comes from her being overweight? In other words, shorts that look fine on a skinny gal, look out of place on her? Or do you mean "sloppy" in that the shorts are wrinkled, torn, etc.? Reason I am asking is that I can't necessarily see you being able to talk to her about clothing that just doesn't look "as good" on her as someone of a lesser size. Now, in regards to the hygiene matter, this can be a sensitive matter and I think the best way to handle it is with dignity and respect for the other person. There have been previous posts, dealing with how to address someone's hygiene, and my favorite was first sending a letter to them stating that there have been some complaints about certain hygiene matters and that you would just like to remind your employees that they are required to present a neat, CLEAN, appearance to the customers.
As for the clothing, this is a good reason why your dress code could benefit from only allowing clothing that fits a wide variety of sizes, since that is how people come..for example, instead of shorts, how about allowing them to wear capris or clam diggers instead? Still cool in the summer, but better designed to accommodate all sizes...
thanks
I hate having to deal with employees wearing shorts to work. They do not look good on a lot of people and I prefer kakhis and polo shirts (but that's just my uptight, conservative opinion). If this is, indeed, your dress code, you can't take her to task because she does not look good in shorts. This is allowable under your dress code. You can specify they be neat and clean though.
The second is the hygiene issue. You can, discreetly, ask her to clean up her act a bit with the greasy hair, etc. I think you, as an employer, are within your rights to expect at least a clean, neat appearance from people of any size.
We, too, have an employee who fits this prototype that you have described. She is very good at her job but, thank God, she is out of the public view. Very overweight, and does not try to do anything at all to enhance her appearance. The tops she wears shows an inch or two of not so desirable looking mid-rift. Hair is greasy, no makeup (you catch my drift here). She also is none too clean and employees have complained about her "smell". Her supervisor who truly loves these types of conversations (sarcasm), avoids the issue like the plague. Being overweight does not automatically mean a person is sloppy or unkempt. I have seen many overweight individuals who take great pains to make sure they wear clothes that flatter them and are very professional looking.
This is never a pleasant subject to address.
Oh, yes the reason the shorts look bad is the weight issue not the shorts issue in particular.
Thanks again.