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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

DRESS
CODE
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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What is the dress code at your company?

2. What clothes do you typically wear when you’re at work?
3. How do you choose which clothes to buy for work?
4. Which of the photos below is closest to how you dress for work?

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2 Vocabulary

Complete the following vocabulary by adding the missing vowels (a,e,i,o,u).

1. _ pp _ r _ l (n) - clothing which is sold in shops

2. l _ x (adj.) - relaxed about following rules

3. n _ c _ ss _ t _ t _ (v) - make something important

4. n _ t _ r _ _ _ sly (adv.) - in a way that gives something a bad reputation

5. r _ _ nst _ t _ (v) - reintroduce a law or policy that was previously stopped

6. t _ _ l _ r - m _ d _ (adj.) - making clothes for a specific person so that they fit perfectly

7. t _ ght _ n _ p (phr v.) - make a law or policy stricter

8. _ nd _ rdr _ ss _ d (adj.) - wearing clothes that are not formal enough for the situation you are in

Now write the vocabulary in the correct gaps (a - h) in the article on page three. You may have to
change the form of the word.

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Dress to impress?
What to wear at work

1. It was during the 1990s that what was seen as acceptable dress in the office started to relax, but also became
a little more complex. Prior to this time, formal business wear during the workday was a given. As the world
entered the last decade of the millennium, there were two factors which affected work dress. Firstly, recessions
hit around the world a) many companies to reduce their workforce. With fewer people to do the
work, dress codes relaxed as they were not a priority. It was also the beginning of the Internet era which created
a much more casual approach. Indeed, it was around this time that casual clothes became common in offices.
Fashion companies such as Dockers provided much more affordable clothing that could be worn in the workplace
and outside, a necessity for many in financially difficult times.

2. Since the 90s, dress codes have varied from company to company and industry to industry. The financial industry
b) its policies around 2002 which had a knock-on effect in other industries. There were concerns
that employees were damaging the image of the company by arriving at work with piercings, poorly-ironed outfits
and improper grooming. This pushed some companies into c) a suit and tie policy. At first,
casual wear in the office was seen as creating a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It was felt to increase staff
morale, increasing performance as a result. However, as time wore on, the negative effects soon became clear.
In business, unexpected meetings with both management and clients can sometimes occur. d)
employees could create a sense of incompetence, lack of commitment and a low degree of professionalism. It was
noted that in the busy world of business, people maintain their first impressions for long periods and are prone to
making decisions based on them.

3. As a compromise, many firms began to institute a practice of employees wearing business casual. This created a
balance between the professionalism required while also allowing for employees to feel comfortable and relaxed.
Importantly, the costs of such an outfit were significantly lower than that of a e) suit. Many
places also introduced casual Fridays as a way of allowing employees the freedom to relax their style towards the
end of the week, but still maintaining stricter dress codes for 80% of the work week. Still there are drawbacks.
This style can still create a sense of a f) working style, but its main problem is how difficult it
is to define. With workers mixing casual and business g) , one item of clothing can make the
difference between a positive and a negative impression. Addressing issues created by poor choices of clothing
are also h) difficult to handle as our clothes are such a personal choice, but communicate so
much about us and, indirectly, who we work for.

Sources: Central Collage, HR News, Resource Management Inc.

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3 Reading comprehension

Read the article on page three and decide which paragraphs A - C the following information can be
found.

1. Examples of dress choices that hurt the public profile of a company.

2. A rule that relaxed the dress code just before the weekend.

3. The effect of the rise of online companies on dress codes.

4. A company which made clothes suitable for both home and at work.

5. A style of dress which was halfway between overly formal and very casual clothes.

6. Reasons why casual clothes in the office were felt to be a positive move.

7. A global economic problem which had an impact on how people dressed for work.

8. The negative effects of casual clothes worn in a professional environment.

4 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the vocabulary to the definitions.

1. leg warmer (n) a. having holes or tears in and appearing old and worn

2. see-through (adj.) b. a loose, thin dress worn by women to sleep in

3. sleeveless (adj.) c. clothing which is worn in order to make people notice you

4. ragged (adj.) d. clothing which is like a sock without the foot section which is
worn stretching from the ankle to the knee
5. fashion statement (n) e. regarding a very thin material which does not hide the body
beneath
6. flip flops (n) f. regarding jackets, shirts, jumpers etc. which do not cover the arms

7. nightie (n) g. a kind of sandal, usually made from plastic or rubber, which has a
strap held in place by a piece which goes between the big toe and
second toe
8. skintight (adj.) h. fitting in a way that hugs the body

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Part B: Complete the following sentences with vocabulary from Part B.

1. She was wearing this big fur coat even though it wasn’t really cold at all. I think it was meant to
be more of a than a practical choice.

2. I just went to the gym for the first time in ages and all the men were wearing these
T-shirts so you can see how big their muscles are. It was embarrassing.

3. It was really strange. He was wearing a jacket and shirt which were really smart, but then his jeans
were all around the knees and legs so you could see his tattoos.

4. She was dressed really formally from the waist up. But when she got up from the desk, she was
wearing leggings which left very little to the imagination!

5. I got caught in the rain at lunchtime and it was so embarrassing as it made my shirt completely
.

6. My sister’s manager came around to drop off some files first thing in the morning and she felt
really awkward because he was earlier than she expected and she was still in her .

7. When I came out of the sea, I couldn’t find my on the beach anywhere and I had
to walk back to the hotel barefoot. The pavement was so hot!

8. My girlfriend loves her yoga class but complains about getting cold. So I bought her some
so at least her ankles are warm.

5 Listening for gist

Which of the following questions does the host of the radio show ask?

1. What do you prefer to wear for work?

2. What is the dress code for your company?

3. What do you say to people who have dressed inappropriately?

4. What do you do to inform staff of the dress code when they join?

5. Have you had to fire anyone for wearing inappropriate clothes?

6. What problems have you had with the clothes that people wear for
work?

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6 Listening comprehension

Complete the table by deciding if the statement is true for Aisha, Andrew, or neither of them.

7 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Which kind of clothes that people wear in their personal lives would not be appropriate for your
workplace?
2. What effect do you think the clothes that you wear have on your attitude to work? Why?
3. Do you know of anyone you worked with who got into trouble for the kind of clothes they wore
to work?
4. How do you dress if you work from home?
5. If you run your own company, what kind of clothes would you ask your employees to wear? Why?

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8 Extended activity/Homework

You are going to do a roleplay. One of you will be a manager and one of you will be an employee who
has been wearing clothes that are not appropriate for the office in the view of the manager. Your
teacher will give you cards giving some details of the situation.

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Transcripts

5. Listening for gist

Host: Welcome to the Business Talk. Today on the show, we’re discussing the tricky topic of
dress codes. Andrew McCain has spent most of the last two decades in management
positions for various companies in the publishing industry and Aisha Malik has been in
management in the finance industry for the past fifteen years. Welcome to the show,
both of you.

Both: Thank you.

Host: Firstly, Andrew, let me ask you: What is the dress code for your company?

Andrew: Well, as publishing is a creative industry, I would say it’s a mixture of business casual and
casual. This can create a problem because we don’t really have any hard definitions of
what people should and shouldn’t wear. So we get a lot of different personal definitions
of what is and isn’t acceptable. Summer is a difficult time as with the heat, people get
more relaxed. So, we start to see a lot more flip flops. If they’re just working at their desk,
it’s less of a problem. But they often cause people to trip up, especially on stairs. Also, the
sound they make as the wearer walks around the office can be very annoying for some
people.

Aisha: Yes, I agree summer is worse. We also find that a lot of women will come in wearing
jackets, but underneath, they are wearing sleeveless tops or sometimes shirts made out
of thin fabric that is quite see-through - a lot more so than they realised when they were
getting dressed . Of course, when it gets really hot, they remove the jacket and it makes
a big difference!

Host: What do you do to inform staff of the dress code when they join?

Aisha: It is in the handbook that every employee receives when they join, but I usually go through
it with each new employee and encourage them to ask questions. I even ask them what
kind of clothes they wore at their last place of work and try to politely advise them whether
or not the same thing will be appropriate at my company. I find this saves a lot of problems
later, but I still have them.

Andrew: I must admit, I don’t really talk about it with new employees. But I have had to deal with
a few problems, so maybe I should start doing what Aisha does.

Host: So, what problems have you had with the clothes that people wear for work?

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Andrew: It can be very challenging to deal with, as sometimes what they are wearing isn’t
necessarily a problem for anyone, but it is a problem for that particular person. I had
an employee who wore a skin-tight shirt for work. It wasn’t so bad at the beginning but
then he put on weight. So, this shirt started to reveal his stomach and sides when he sat
down. As I said, it’s a creative industry so we’ve got a lot of younger employees thinking
they are making a fashion statement. We want staff to feel relaxed, but it’s still a business,
you know? When they start showing up in ragged trousers and tops, or have their tattoos
showing through their clothes, it gets a bit much. I have had to ask staff to go home and
change before now, which is usually met with surprise. But word gets around and it stops
other people from wearing similar things.

Aisha: People in my industry are usually a little more conservative in their dress, so I don’t have as
many problems with skin showing. It’s more of a style choice. I had a woman once wearing
what I think she thought was a beautiful dress, but it was actually a nightie. It created the
wrong impression in the office and I had to ask her not to wear it again. Customers in
the bank can’t usually see staff below the waist, so in the winter, we have had situations
when staff have been wearing leggings and leg warmers at the desk. Then, unexpectedly,
they will have to go out to talk to customers and they forget what they are wearing, and
it doesn’t look at all professional. I ask employees to always dress as though they are in
full view of the customer at all times.

Host: Right, we’re going to take a short break and then we will come back and discuss how to
talk with an employee about a problem with what they are wearing.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This gets students thinking about their choice of clothes at work and gives some examples.

2. Vocabulary

10 mins.
This focuses on key vocabulary in the article and asks students to pay attention to the spelling. Ask students to
complete it without a reference in the first instance, but allow them to check later if needed. Ensure they can
correctly pronounce the target language. When they have finished, ask them to scan the article and write the
vocabulary in the correct gaps.

1. apparel 2. lax 3. necessitate 4. notoriously

5. reinstate 6. tailor-made 7. tighten up 8. underdressed

Answers to the article:

1. a. necessitated
2. b. tightened up ≀ c. reinstating ≀ d. Underdressed
3. e. tailor-made ≀ f. lax ≀ g. apparel ≀ h. notoriously
Sources:
central.edu/writing-anthology/2019/06/04/dress-codes-in-the-workplace-effects-on-organizational-culture/
hrnews.co.uk/from-power-suits-to-hoodies-the-changing-business-dress-code-in-2022/
rmi-solutions.com/5-common-dress-code-violations-and-how-to-address-them/

3. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Ask the students to read the article carefully and decide which of the paragraphs they can find the information.

1. B - There were concerns that employees were damaging the image of the company by arriving at work with
piercings, poorly ironed outfits and improper grooming.
2. C - Many places also introduced casual Fridays as a way of allowing employees the freedom to relax their style
towards the end of the week ...
3. A - It was also the beginning of the Internet era which created a much more casual approach.
4. A - Fashion companies such as Dockers provided much more affordable clothing that could be worn in the
workplace and outside...
5. C - As a compromise, many firms began to institute a practice of employees wearing business casual.
6. B - At first casual wear in the office was seen as creating a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It was felt
to increase staff morale, increasing performance as a result.
7. A - Firstly, recessions hit around the world and necessitated many companies to reduce their workforces. With
fewer people to do the work, dress codes relaxed as they were not a priority.
8. B - Underdressed employees could create a sense of incompetence, lack of commitment and a low degree of
professionalism.

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4. Focus on vocabulary

Part A
5 mins.
Make sure students can correctly pronounce the target vocabulary. Ask them to complete the task unaided in the
first instance, but allow them to use a reference later if needed.

1. → d. 2. → e. 3. → f. 4. → a. 5. → c. 6. → g. 7. → b. 8. → h.

Part B
5 mins.
This allows students to use the vocabulary in context. Ask the students to identify which parts of speech can be
used in the gaps ahead of completing the exercise.

1. fashion statement 2. sleeveless 3. ragged 4. skintight

5. see-through 6. nightie 7. flip flops 8. leg warmers

5. Listening for gist

5 mins.
This allows students to hear the audio ahead of the main comprehension and identify the topics of discussion.

2. ✓ What is the dress code for your company?

4. ✓ What do you do to inform staff of the dress code when they join?
6. ✓ What problems have you had with the clothes that people wear for work?

6. Listening comprehension

10 mins.
Ask students to complete the table after the first listening and then listen again to check their answers.

Answers to the table:

Aisha → 1, 4, 8, 9; Andrew → 3, 6, 7; Neither → 2, 5

7. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

8. Extended activity/Homework

20 mins+.
Give each student a roleplay card. You may want them to change roles or you may want students to swap partners
for the second roleplay. Give them time to think about what they want to say ahead of the roleplay. The idea of
the exercise is to give students practice in dealing with a difficult conversation. However, allow them to do what
they like with the situation and encourage them to be creative.

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