Dressing for Work – at Home!
A Gallop Poll tells us “2 out of every 3 Americans show low self-esteem.” My online dictionary tells me that self-esteem is “confidence in one’s own worth or abilities.” Putting these two things together then would indicate that two-thirds of all Americans have low, or reduced, confidence in their own worth or ability. Why is that, and what does this have to do with those of us who work out of our homes (either full or part-time)? Well, as I understand it, self-esteem begins with how we look at ourselves—what we see when we look in the mirror, and how we consider our capabilities—or lack of.
So, in considering all of this, I tried a two-week experiment a while ago. In the first week, when I got out of bed, I threw on my old comfortable sweats and, after breakfast, went into my den/office and worked for a few hours. After lunch I worked some more and then, when I was through with work, I went about my normal routine for the rest of the day.
During the second week, I got out of bed before sunrise, went for an hour walk, shaved and showered, and dressed in fresh khaki’s and a sport shirt, and, after breakfast, I went into my den/office and followed the same routine as I did in week one.
The results of this experiment? Not only did I accomplish much more during the second week, but I also felt much more positive about my work, and myself—I felt invigorated.
Obviously, if you have clients or customers coming to your home office you would dress appropriately, but when there is no one around but you, why should it matter what you wear. Well, in my case at least, I think I did better (and more) work when “dressed for work”, than I did when I was dressed for lounging around. Perhaps this is the same phenomenon as when an Interview Coach tells us that, when giving a radio interview we should stand up and walk around, visualizing the audience we are speaking to, rather than just slouching down in our comfy chair.
It seems it is also important to sit up straight when using the phone. Apparently our posture comes across in our voice on the phone, regardless of what technology we are using.
Well, it seems to work for me—how about you? How do you dress for working at home, and do you think it really matters?
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