[Work Life Handbook] "Is it not okay to wear shorts?" Your thoughts on 'Dress Code Relaxation'

Companies Encourage Cool Biz Fashion Amid Heatwave
"I Feel Self-Conscious Wearing It" Complaints Despite Company Policy

As the nationwide sweltering heat continues, office workers are expressing a desire to come to work wearing shorts. Companies are also reflecting these employees' wishes by encouraging so-called 'Cool Biz' fashion. However, some complain that it is practically difficult due to social pressure.

Earlier on the 12th, a post appeared on Korean Air's internal communication board stating, "It was raining and hot, so I wore shorts to work, but I was reprimanded." The author criticized that although it is called 'dress code freedom,' the reality is that people hesitate and worry about it.

As debates over Cool Biz attire continued, Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, personally commented. Chairman Cho said, "Wearing shorts to work is an employee's personal choice. No one should say anything about it." With the chairman expressing his stance on shorts attire, the controversy was settled for the time being.

Office workers are wearing shorts and focusing on their work. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This is not the first time that wearing shorts to work has been encouraged. According to the business community, Samsung Electronics allowed employees to wear shorts to work in 2016. Large companies such as LG Electronics in 2018 and Hyundai Motor Company in 2019 followed suit in adopting dress code freedom.

However, many office workers say that 'organizational culture' is an obstacle. Park Min-woo, a worker in his 40s, said, "It takes courage to wear shorts at work," and questioned, "Who can really come out wearing shorts?" Another office worker in his 30s, Mr. Kim, emphasized, "If the company culture is such that wearing shorts is not a problem, then people can wear them. But if the organization is conservative, it will be difficult."

There are also survey results showing that wearing shorts to work is practically difficult. In 2020, Saramin, a job matching platform, conducted a survey of 1,200 office workers about summer dress code freedom. Overall, 76.4% responded that they were in favor. Nine out of ten (89.4%) said it also helped improve work efficiency. However, only 34.5% of respondents said they worked in companies where dress code freedom was possible. By company size, it was 38.5% for small and medium enterprises, 27.8% for mid-sized companies, and 22.7% for large corporations.

Regarding the Cool Biz fashion controversy, corporate officials emphasize that company policy comes first. A human resources representative from a company stressed, "If the company allows employees to come to work wearing shorts, there is no problem." He added, "A relaxed atmosphere is good, but companies are organizations that produce results, so this is a measure to improve work efficiency. From that perspective, Cool Biz fashion is permitted." He further explained, "If there are employees who give others a hard time during this process, it is not a disruption to work, but it means those employees do not understand why the company allows wearing shorts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.