3 Reasons Shabby Workwear Will Hurt Your Opportunities for Promotion

I spent most of my early life working on various job sites. I gained a lot of good memories and some tales to tell. But along with those experiences, something else remains in my mind. The impressions I formed of the various folks I worked with. How their personalities and appearance affected my opinion of how they viewed themselves and the job. I will be the first to admit, some of the grubbiest guys, were solid, heart and soul workers, with deep knowledge and skill. But I also remember that those same guys never seem to advance into supervisory roles, and that was a real shame. We can’t help it. Appropriate and clean workwear in good condition, goes a long way to moving you up the ladder, because promotion is not only about your qualifications to do the job. A mentor once told me, the person who can move you forward is probably watching you right now.

1. Safety: From your boss’s point of view, he wants to see you wearing the right equipment for the job. He wants to know you take your position seriously, and not only that, your effort to wear the appropriate clothing and safety gear is going to make his job a whole lot easier. And the opposite is true. If your boss considers you careless, he will consider you a risk, and disrespectful at that. He will assume you don’t mind making him look bad for your comfort.

• Image: If you’re fortunate enough that your job takes place away from the public, and you have the same crew with you every day, maybe you don’t care so much about image. But if your job takes you out among the people, there are often two witnesses that will be making opinions about how you present yourself on the job. Your boss, because your image is his image, and contractors, who might be considering hiring your company for work. I always keep good quality workwear near me. Getting rid of some of your worn-out kit and coming to work in clean and well-made workwear is going to be promoting you all day long.

• Likeability: On the job site, you meet a lot of different kinds of people over the years. What they wore every day is part of how you remember them. I remember guys whose clothes were so shabby that you saw way too much occasionally through the holes, if you know what I mean. These guys always seem to drop back in the group hierarchy. When it came time for promotion, those blokes were never considered, despite experience, unless seniority was a factor. And let’s be honest, it is better when your mates are laughing with you and not at you after hours.

Work smarter, not harder, that’s what my dad always said. The more you make, the less you work. He said that too. Construction and labour jobs are not exactly an episode of Suits, but some of the rules for promotion apply. People who show higher standards are the first to be considered for management. Especially when safety and public image is a factor.