Personal presentation at work includes your physical presentation, personal hygiene, how you speak, get along with others and deal with issues that come up at work.
Appropriate personal presentation to a particular workplace or type of work will assist in obtaining and maintaining employment (About.com 2007; Independent Living Centres Australia 2007).
Workplace solutions and adjustments
What is required to maintain personal presentation at work depends on the job. Personal presentation will be different in positions of responsibility, such as a manager compared to a junior trainee and also the type of work that is done i.e. a manager may have to wear a suit or formal clothing to work whilst an employee within an office may require only smart attire.
For people with disability who may have difficulty understanding or deciding what is appropriate work-wear, talking with them about some ideas and giving clear guidelines on what to wear, in a respectful manner may help. Some ideas in relation to what to wear might include exactly what is or isn’t considered appropriate in your workplace, including:
- is there a uniform available?
- can jeans or denim clothing be worn?
- do shirts need to have collars or sleeves?
- are pants required or can skirts or shorts be worn?
- is there specific clothing or footwear required for safety reasons?
- are closed in shoes required?
- can thongs be worn to the workplace?
- does hair have to be worn tied back?
- is it safe to wear jewellery in the workplace?
On all occasions at work, even if you can’t afford the latest clothing or shoes, what you do wear should be neat and clean which includes shoes. If you wear make-up it should be applied appropriate to the workplace and fingernails should be clean and cut to the appropriate length for the type of work undertaken. Hair should be neat. Consider what others around you at work are wearing as a guide.
Maintaining personal hygiene is also important within the workplace. More information is available by going to this link
A variety of independent living products are available to assist people to maintain personal presentation at work such as:
(About.com 2007; Independent Living Centres Australia 2007).
References/resources
Independent Living Centres Australia Inc, Sydney, viewed 29 June 2007, http://www.ilcaustralia.org/
About.com 2007, Inappropriate Dress and Conduct at Work May Send the Wrong Message, The New York Times Company, New York, viewed 29 June 2007, http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/dressingforwork/a/inapprop_dress.htm
About.com 2007, Clothes make the Man (or Woman), The New York Times Company, New York, viewed 29 June 2007, http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/dressingforwork/a/dress_success.htm