Europe has been sweltering in the heat for weeks. Last June was the hottest month on record. Are employees therefore showing up to work dressed more lightly than usual, or is this not tolerated despite the record temperatures? Is there a gender or national difference in this regard?
On behalf of the online retailer Galaxus, the market research company YouGov surveyed 2616 people from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and France on this topic.
Dress codes are a thing of the past.
Nearly half of employees in Europe are generally free to wear whatever they want to work. There are no dress code regulations for them. Where guidelines do exist, the most common rules are closed shoes (20%) and long trousers (18%).
Around 15% of employees will have to wear uniforms, protective clothing, or clothing with company logos. And by 2026, hardly anyone (4%) will be wearing a suit.
Germans show their calves, Swiss and Italians do not.
Despite the relaxed regulations, many workers in Switzerland show less skin than permitted, even on hot days. Compared to other Europeans, men in Switzerland are the most likely to wear long trousers (60%) and closed shoes (56%) to work. Italians dress similarly heavily on hot days. Shorts, in particular, are considered unacceptable in the workplace there (16%).
German men dress most casually: they have the highest rate of wearing T-shirts (69%) and shorts (38%). And the French let their feet breathe the most. Only 37% wear closed shoes.
German women, on the other hand, keep their feet covered even on hot days. Only 29% wear open sandals to work – a record low. More than half opt for closed shoes – a record high. Otherwise, women in Europe show a very homogenous approach to their clothing choices on hot days.
Switzerland as a guardian of dress codes
When it comes to what's considered unacceptable, Switzerland once again proves to be the most conservative. In almost every category, Switzerland records the highest level of disapproval of certain clothing items. While nearly all countries agree that bikinis and swim trunks have no place in the workplace – regardless of whether there is customer contact or not – Switzerland clearly leads the pack with a 66% rejection rate. The Swiss population also clearly opposes visible navels: 73% find it inappropriate in the case of direct customer contact, and 57% even without it. Italy, on the other hand, has a completely different stance, with roughly a third and a quarter of the population, respectively, expressing disapproval of midriff-baring clothing.
In France, tank tops and camisoles are very much in vogue. These garments are also well-established in customer-facing situations. Only around 20% of people in France reject them, compared to around 50% in other countries. Germans also show a similarly low figure (25%) when not directly involved with customers. However, rejection increases significantly as soon as direct customer contact is involved (44%).
To bring us full circle back to strict Switzerland: Jogging pants are unacceptable in customer-facing roles in the Swiss Confederation (61%). No other country even comes close to such a high negative rating.
Little praise and criticism
Clothing rarely sparks discussion in the workplace. Around 70% of people in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France have never commented on their colleagues' work attire. When a blouse or shoes do come up, the feedback is mostly positive. In almost all the countries surveyed, a minority (around 5%) gave exclusively negative feedback. Compliments are most frequently given by French and Austrian employees.
The study doesn't reveal whether Italy has a more open feedback culture or a more relaxed adherence to established style conventions. The fact is, in the country where Gucci and Versace were founded, feedback on work attire is most frequent – and often comes from the same person, both positive and negative.
