Hybrid Working: Perhaps not a term that would have formed part of the common vernacular in a pre-Covid era, but the term is now universally understood to denote a combination of working from home and office-based employment.
Should the use of uniforms be ruled out in a hybrid working scenario? At Tailored Image, we think not, and not just because we’re in the business of uniforms. There is so much to be said for incorporating a uniform into your organisation, even in a home working environment.
Here are our thoughts on why uniforms are important to your business regardless of your model of operation. For an example of how hybrid uniforms work in practice,
Uniforms for Hybrid Working – Why Bother?
There are lots of reasons why uniforms should remain a priority even when your staff work from home and/or aren’t directly customer facing. Here are just a few:
The temptation to work in nightwear or casual clothing can be very real and indeed may be part of the attraction in home-based working, but there is no comparison to the uniform approach to reinforce the shift between work time and leisure time in a home environment. The simple act of dressing in branded attire can be enough to encourage a mental shift into ‘work mode’ and thus promote productivity.
Wearing a uniform, regardless of your location when doing so, can enhance a sense of teamwork and instil a feeling of belonging. This can be difficult to forge otherwise, particularly for members of the team who are permanently home-based. Wearing a uniform promotes equality between staff, making them feel equally valued whether their role is office or home based.
Despite the obvious benefits of working from home in terms of flexibility and enhancing work-life balance, being a remote worker can be a lonely existence. Being entitled to a uniform range than fits in with a WFH culture can help promote the sense of teamwork and overcome the feeling of isolation.
A uniform helps promote your brand regardless of the location in which it is worn. Your employees may work from home, but introducing a uniform will ensure that they represent your brand effectively in video meetings for example. It can also help promote your brand to postal workers, delivery drivers and staff at the local shop or café on lunchbreaks – so don’t think a work from home model means your brand will never be visible!
As well as how a company is portrayed to others, wearing a uniform also reinforces to the wearer a sense of pride and loyalty. The simple act of putting on a uniform is a reminder to staff of what their company stands for and the culture it represents. Culture shouldn’t be confined to the 4 walls of an office building. It is lived out in every action of an employee, regardless of location.
Whilst corporate colours and logos will unite your staff, having a broad choice of uniform items will enable enough self-expression to make your staff feel like themselves. This level of individualism is vital in making your employees feel comfortable in their roles and therefore get the best out of them. The most successful recipe for hybrid uniforms is to offer a range of garments, from more casual through to dressy office wear, so that regardless of their model of working, staff with have options which make wearing their uniforms a delight rather than a chore.
For more information on how Tailored Image can help you achieve a hybrid uniform range to suit the needs of your business, why not Contact Us today.
