Workwear aids efficiency
Page 42
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The right clothes should be recognised as a need rather than an optional extra. lain Sheriff explains why
ONE man's workwear is another man's leisure wear. The professional sportsman's workwear is identical to that worn by the amateur who enjoys sport as leisure time recreation.
However, there is always the exception to prove the rule: by no stretch of the imagination could the clothes worn by drivers or fitters be other than workwear.
The trend towards supplying workwear to staff was developing quite rapidly during the halcyon days of the Sixties and Seventies. It becomes a part of the employee's entitlement in many companies. Then came recession and a cut back in perquisites.
While the trend has not been reversed, it has certainly decelerated. Savings have to be made and this seems an obvious area to look at. But is it? Is workwear no more than a perquisite?
Workwear, properly selected, is an aid to efficiency, a safety factor and an advertising device. Operatives dressed in worn, stained, casual clothes are less efficient because they are not designed for the job, are frequently hazardous and do nothing to inspire self confidence. Clothes maketh the man. Work clothes maketh the workman.
While the financial considerations cannot be ignored, they should not be allowed to get out of context. There is no need for employers to purchase garments outright. Like most other items of equipment, and that fairly describes workwear, they can be leased or hired. The leasing contract can be drawn up in many ways. It will include if desired, a repair and cleaning clause.
When the need for workwear is establised, and it should be recognised as a need rather than an optional extra, then its design becomes the most important factor. Designers will be happy to recommend suits for job functions. What is required by a fitter will not always suit a storeman or driver.
What is necessary for a fuel delivery driver will be over-specified if used by a milk roundsman. Not only style but material used must be considered against the job function.
If any of the plus points for workwear were to be discarded, the front runner would be the public image or advertising benefits. Like vehicle livery, personal livery projects the company image. An untidy driver or vehicle suggests inefficiency or irresponsibility, whereas a smartly turned out man conveys the image of a company which really ticks.
In the workshop a well dressed fitting staff will lead to a tidy workplace and well serviced vehicles. Perhaps it is old fashioned to talk of pride and esprit de corps, but these are characteristics which should be cultivated — they are effective in every positive way.
One of our sister publications in IPC Business Press Ltd — Laundry & Cleaning News — thinks as we do, and on February 24 and 25 they are sponsoring a workwear exhibition at Kensington Exhibition Centre. Jointly we are organising a workwear competition. These illustrations are the entries which will be judged by a panel of design experts at the exhibition.
To ensure that the winner is not only good to look at but also practical, Steve Gray, CM's. technical editor, will join the judging panel. The results will be announced in C!4 on March 5, 1982.