HR Magazine – The ‘Office Siren’ trend: Gen Z’s answer to dress codes?

Featuring tight-fitting pencil skirts and tailored blazers, paired with statement glasses, the trend has sparked a surge in interest, with some videos garnering millions of views on TikTok.

The posters’ tendency towards the provocative, however, has prompted many to suggest that those hopping on the trend would get sent home by HR.

One such video, posted by @Ronhiree, garnered comments such as: “The way I’d be fired if I wore this to the office” and “As someone who works in HR, do not wear this.”

But as #officesiren has achieved more than 53 million videos, the style is clearly popular with both creators and viewers, prompting questions over why young generations are so enamoured by office style.

Read more: What’s new on #WorkTok?

Carolyn Walker, global HR Director at Tenth Revolution Group, said that the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a move away from strict office dress codes.

She told HR magazine: “I think the changes we’ve seen since the onset of the pandemic are going to be lasting ones – including the move away from strict ideas of what was considered to be professional attire.”

She described this as particularly relevant to younger workers: “It’s important not to be reductive when we talk about different generations in the workforce, but we know that as a broad trend, members of Gen Z are inclined towards more comfortable or casual office attire. 

“This has as much to do with Gen Z entering the workforce at a time when remote and hybrid working have become an everyday part of the landscape as it does with any kind of fundamental generational difference. It’s important to frame trends within their cultural contexts.”

As expectations of office attire have changed and workplaces seek to be more inclusive, enforcing dress codes must be done with increased sensitivity, according to executive coach Denise Conroy, CEO of consultancy Themy.

She told HR magazine: “I am a reformed judgemental woman. In the past I was always really conservative about dress codes, because that’s what I was raised to think.

“But I started to become aware of the fact dress codes do typically mandate how women look. Or if dress codes police men, it’s usually men in the global majority, for example, being told they have to wear their hair in eurocentric styles.

“So I do find dress codes to be an ethical problem, as they often hit on those inequities. And let’s face it, we should care about your outcomes, not your outfit.”

Read more: Summer heat: Don’t make us the dress code police, says HR

Conversely, Jorge Vargas, chief revenue officer at DEI training service RW3 CultureWizard, said that dress codes can be inclusive, aligning expectations for everyone.

Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “As counterintuitive as it sounds, dress codes or dress guidelines are the most inclusive solution. They mean that everyone knows roughly what’s expected and its easier not to make mistakes and for people not to dress too formally or too provocatively.

“It means clarity for people from different cultures to the place they’re working in: for example, if you’re from somewhere where everyone wears a full suit to work, and you go to a US tech environment where everyone wears shorts and t-shirts. 

“Also, if you come from a background where you’re the first in your family in a white collar job, you may not have guidance from parents or friends, and you may go somewhere like social media which gives you the wrong idea; so a dress code can give some examples of what is appropriate.”