A few reminders about professional dress

The topic of professional dress has recently been discussed at our Regional Administrators’ meeting in an effort to ensure that we present ourselves and AEA 267 in the most positive light.  Our dress code was last clarified back in 2012, but with the beginning of the year, we felt it was important to remind everyone of the expectations to ensure consistency.  

The “spirit” of our expectations around professional dress is to represent our agency in a professional light and underscore the important work that we do.  We hope to present ourselves as an organization that takes their work and roles seriously and dress in a way that is parallel to the responsibilities of our jobs.

Here are some general reminders:

Monday-Thursday: Business casual (khakis/polos, dress pants, tops, etc.) to business professional (skirts, pant suits, etc.) depending on who your audience is for the day. If you are giving a presentation, you would probably choose business professional.  If you are simply working  in the office, then business casual is probably just fine (as well as a minimum expectation).

Friday: Jeans are welcome (with a business professional top).  However, again, please remember who your audience is for the day and dress appropriately given your audience.

Example of business casual

Example of “Friday casual”

Example of business professional

Some general rules of thumb:

• Please, no t-shirts.   
• No Flip-Flops. (Flip Flops are not the same as open-toed shoes.)

If you have compelling reasons for requesting variance to the expected attire, please speak with your supervisor. Our hope is that we don’t have to spend a lot of time or energy on dress code issues as we all have much more impactful priorities that desire our attention!  Thanks for your cooperation. Questions? Contact your supervisor.