Dress Better, Feel Better, Work Better?

The way a person dresses in the workplace not only impacts the perceptions others have about the individual, but it could also increase the way they feel and help to make them be more productive.

Personally, when I don’t feel well emotionally or health wise, I use the tactic of dressing nicer. I notice that people talk to me more and they seem to be overall friendlier. I have to admit, when I have favorable experiences I tend to be naturally motivated to be more productive. Being able to get things done makes me feel like I’m moving forward and being successful.

Work Better, Feel Better, Work Better??
A professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management, wrote a study for the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2014 showing that clothes with high social status can increase dominance and job performance in “high-stakes” competitive tasks. Hmmm… maybe I need more social status work clothes. 
Other research suggests that the effects of wearing nicer clothes can be as much internal as external.

In a study published last year in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, results show that people engage in higher levels of abstract thinking when they are dressed up, compared with when they dress casually.

When some 361 participants were asked to complete complex tasks, the ones dressed in professional business attire engaged in similar types of abstract thinking that someone in a position of power, like a senior executive, would use. The casual dressers tended to sweat the small details verses thinking quickly and completing the tasks.

Do you feel more powerful when you are dressed professionally?

People who wear formal or professional attire generally feel more powerful, research suggests. I tend to agree from my experience. When I dress professionally and I look good, I feel confident. The higher my confidence is, the more powerful I feel.

Does dressing better make you feel better? Have you found that people respond favorably when you look really professional?


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