Work from Home? What to Wear to Improve Your Work

Imagine this. You are having one of the most productive work days you have ever had. Your creativity is off the charts, and it seems like you are even thinking more clearly about the work you are doing right now. You made an important change in the way you work from home and you can only think that it must be this change that’s responsible for the way your day is going.

There are many more women and moms working from home right now, than ever before, due to the pandemic, according to research. And experts also suggest that that may not change, once the dust has cleared, because many of us may go right on working at home.

Many women who were asked, mentioned that one of the things they liked best about working from home was the opportunity to dress more casually than usual. But not so fast, work-from-home mom...

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Work from Home Moms: the Best Way to Dress for Work

Researchers from Cal State Northridge conducted a study where five tests where they compared groups who were dressed up, dressed neutrally and dressed very casually. The results suggest that when we dress up or dress well, our brains function better. In fact, our thinking will be more creative and more abstract. - study summarized in a blog post on Adjuvancy.com

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Other similar studies suggest that when you are working with others, the way you dress influences the impression you make. While that idea is not really news, what was interesting was that it had an impact on the consequences of their negotiations, too, because the better dressed were also better at negotiating. 

A similar conclusion is that we think better, or at a higher cognitive level, according to the New York Times, when we are dressed up, than we do when we are not.

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​So my takeaway, for my own work, is that it’s not just important for me to dress well for a style day with a client, it’s also important to get dressed and dress well, when all I will be doing is writing a blog post or creating an offering for my clients.

It will help to ensure that they get my very best work, in whatever capacity they encounter it.

But in my opinion, dressing well might not mean the same thing for every person working from home. 

Because for me, if I am dressed up as if for a job interview, I am likely to overfocus on how uncomfy I am, and also likely not to feel like my true self. On the other hand, if I am best-dressed by my own standards, in JeanineWear, then I am probably more likely to do my best work.

I am planning to give this a try, and report back on my results. 

If you are a work from home mom, what’s your takeaway?

See you tomorrow!

Love, Jeanine

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