Great workplace shorts debate: time to free knees

There was a time when wearing shorts to work was considered a sign you had either forgotten your pants or completely given up on your career.

Somewhere along the way, society decided professionalism could only be achieved if your calves were hidden behind layers of polyester. Meanwhile, executives across the country continue to golf with clients in shorts, attend company picnics in shorts, and spend weekends making million-dollar business deals in — you guessed it — shorts.

It’s time we had an honest conversation.

Climate change is no longer a prediction; it’s a daily weather report. Summers are hotter, heat waves are longer, and air conditioning has become less of a luxury and more of a survival strategy. Yet many workplaces continue to cling to dress codes that seem to have been written sometime around the invention of the fax machine.

Why?

Somewhere, someone still believes a pair of dress pants magically transforms an employee into a better decision maker.

As someone who spends a lot of time helping organizations modernize their policies, I think we’ve reached the point where employers need to reconsider what “professional appearance” means. Spoiler alert: it has very little to do with the amount of fabric covering your shins.

Let’s start with the obvious. If your employees spend their day repairing vehicles, landscaping, loading trucks, inspecting construction sites, delivering packages or working outdoors, allowing tailored work shorts isn’t a radical idea.

In many cases, it’s simply practical. Heat exhaustion is a legitimate workplace safety concern. Nobody performs their best when they feel like they’re being slow-roasted inside a pair of heavy work pants.

Even office workers aren’t immune. Many older buildings struggle to keep up with prolonged heat. Anyone who has sat through a budget meeting while the office thermostat insists it’s a comfortable 23 C despite everyone visibly melting knows productivity drops as temperatures rise.

There is also the issue of fairness.

Historically, women’s business attire has offered considerably more flexibility. Dresses, skirts, capri pants, lighter fabrics and open footwear have generally been considered acceptable in most offices.

Men, on the other hand, have often been sentenced to long trousers regardless of whether the sun has decided to recreate the surface conditions of Mercury.

That simply doesn’t make much sense anymore.

Professionalism shouldn’t depend on gender. If we’re going to relax dress standards during extreme weather, the rules should apply equally to everyone.

Professionalism shouldn’t depend on gender. If we’re going to relax dress standards during extreme weather, the rules should apply equally to everyone. Men shouldn’t have to secretly envy Susan from accounting simply because she’s allowed to wear a knee-length summer dress while they’re slowly cooking inside charcoal wool trousers.

Of course, this isn’t an argument for turning every workplace into a beach resort. Nobody is suggesting flip-flops, swim trunks or drawstrings. There is a significant difference between professional shorts and “I just finished mowing the lawn.”

Tailored shorts paired with a collared shirt can look every bit as polished as chinos. Many clothing companies now make business casual shorts specifically designed for professional settings. They’re clean, structured, and appropriate. The world did not end when business casual became acceptable in the 1990s. It won’t end if knees make an appearance either.

Some employers worry that relaxing dress codes sends the wrong message to customers. Perhaps. But customers have changed, too.

Some employers worry that relaxing dress codes sends the wrong message to customers. Perhaps. But customers have changed, too.

Today’s clients are generally more interested in whether employees are knowledgeable, responsive and friendly than whether they are suffering quietly inside heavy clothing. If your accountant provides outstanding tax advice, your concern is probably not about his shorts.

In fact, modern customers often appreciate organizations that demonstrate common sense. They recognize workplaces evolve. Just as remote work, flexible schedules and mental health accommodations have become part of modern employment, practical dress expectations can evolve as well.

There’s also something strangely symbolic about this debate.

Workplace policies have a habit of surviving long after the reason for them disappears. Dress codes are among the best examples. Many originated in an era when offices were more formal, organizations were highly hierarchical, and appearances were considered the primary indicator of competence.

Today, we know better.

Competence comes from judgment, experience, emotional intelligence, customer service and problem-solving. None of those skills improve because someone’s ankles are hidden.

Competence comes from judgment, experience, emotional intelligence, customer service and problem-solving. None of those skills improve because someone’s ankles are hidden.

If anything, organizations that refuse to revisit outdated rules risk sending another message entirely: “We’ve always done it this way.” That’s rarely a slogan associated with innovation.

Of course, every workplace is different. Some environments require specific protective clothing for safety reasons. Others have branding expectations or formal client interactions where traditional attire still makes sense. Uniformed employees may need consistency for identification or operational purposes.

But those should be conscious decisions based on legitimate business reasons — not simply habit.

The best dress code policies are based on principles rather than clothing inventories. They describe expectations such as being clean, neat, safe and appropriate for the work being performed. They allow managers to exercise judgment while giving employees enough flexibility to dress comfortably for the conditions.

After all, professionalism isn’t measured in inseam length.

One of my favourite tests for workplace policies is simple: if you can’t clearly explain why a rule exists, perhaps it shouldn’t exist anymore.

Ask yourself why employees can’t wear professional shorts during a heat wave.

If the answer is safety, that’s perfectly reasonable. If it is because clients expect formal business attire, that’s worth discussing.

If it is “Because they never have,” you may have found a policy ready for retirement.

One of my favourite tests for workplace policies is simple: if you can’t clearly explain why a rule exists, perhaps it shouldn’t exist anymore.

As temperatures continue climbing each summer, employers will have to rethink more than just air conditioning. They’ll need to rethink flexibility, comfort, employee well-being and common sense.

So here’s my modest proposal: this summer, let the knees breathe.

Issue guidance instead of rigid rules. Define what professional shorts look like. Apply the standards equally to men and women. Trust your employees to make good choices. If someone shows up wearing basketball shorts and rubber sandals to a board meeting, you still have the authority to intervene. HR has always possessed remarkable powers when faced with questionable fashion decisions.

But don’t punish everyone because one person might confuse “business casual” with “backyard barbecue.”

Perhaps future generations will look back at photographs of offices full of employees sweating through July in dress pants with the same bewilderment we reserve for powdered wigs and neck ruffles.

They’ll ask, “Didn’t people get hot?”

Yes. Very. And for reasons no one can quite explain, we apparently believed professionalism ended exactly where the shorts began.

It’s time to rewrite that chapter.