Good morning!
In a post-COVID working environment, employees aren’t sure how to dress for work anymore.
That became clear this summer when a TikTok video went viral of a job-seeker getting reprimanded for wearing shorts to a job interview. She said that when she arrived at the meeting, the recruiter asked her to reschedule and come back again in more suitable attire. The cadidate refused, and seemed confused as to why she was sent home in what she deemed an appropriate outfit—black shorts, a white shirt and a cardigan.
The video, which has racked up 6.2 million views and 144,000 likes so far, opened the floodgates of opinions on what clothes are suitable for the office. But it made one thing very clear: Workers are confused about what to wear to the office in 2024.
Fortune spoke with professional etiquette experts and fashion professors to get to the bottom of the new dress code for white-collar workers. They say that we’re in a new era of a more casual dress code, and Gen Z employees in particular are on the vanguard of this trend.
Some traditional clothing items—like women’s high heels and men’s neckties—have fallen out of fashion, and are often no longer required even in formal workplaces. But there are still some no-nos when it comes to office style.
“The rules have relaxed, but now they’re just ambiguous enough to get people into trouble,” Allison Shapira, CEO of Global Public Speaking LLC, a professional skills company, tells Fortune.
You can read more on what to wear to the office—and what to avoid—here.
Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines.
Lionsgate is now offering voluntary severance and early retirement plans to its U.S. employees in an attempt to lose staffers and be more cost-efficient. WSJ
Morgan Stanley economists say that Trump’s global tariff hike would drive inflation and hurt the labor market, potentially losing between 50,000 to 70,000 jobs per month. Bloomberg
U.S. ports are at risk of shutting down as longshoremen prepare to strike across three dozen locations. Washington Post
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
Jumping ship. After Amazon CEO Andy Jassy ordered employees back in the office five days per week, about 73% of employees said they are considering quitting, according to a survey. —Orianna Rosa Royle
Equilibrium. A study has debunked the argument that in-person workers are better off financially, and shows that hybrid workers face no income inequality due to costs saved from flexible schedules. —Ryan Hogg
Wage wars. Discussing his plan to halt taxes on overtime pay, Donald Trump admitted that he “hated to give overtime” to his workers and that he would bring in other staffers to pick up their shifts instead. —Paolo Confino
