Workplace Advice: Does HR Has a Say About How You Dress or Even Smell?

By Tabitha Makumi,

There’s an interesting picture where Nairobi’s Senator Mike Mbuvi aka Sonko is seen wearing ‘tattered’ (unfinished) jeans in the midst of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto and other senior officials. While those around him seem to be laughing about his choice of clothes, you will agree that he (Sonko) looks out of place.

That aside and back to the workplace, can you wear as you please and have no one bat an eyelid? Can it be business as usual if you decided to show up at work dressed say like Sonko? And furthermore, does the HR get to tell you what to don at the workplace or not?

Speaking to Sarah Moga, a HR Consultant with Global Careers Company, she opines that, “Of course the HR has a say on what kind of clothing people should wear to the workplace. Most companies put it on the code of ethics and conducts, “she adds that, “At the end of the day you want professionalism, decency and less distractions.”

In a similar discussion on IHRM LinkedIn page, Daniel Ongoya a HR & Administration manager at DCF Beverage Corporation asks, “What should HR do when an employee’s body odor is affecting the concentration of others in the workplace/office?”

Now, how many of us think about others when we are purchasing perfumes. As long as it smells good to us, that’s enough and the rest of the world better get along, right? Is it that simple at the workplace though?

Ms Moga shares that, “In my opinion the HR shouldn’t delve so much on personal matters such as the kind of perfume one wears or how many earrings one has but let’s agree you also don’t want to have nose to eyebrows to lip earrings,” she adds that, “If it’s a case where you have two to three people who have raised concerns about someone’s perfume, then the HR should look into it because every employee has to be comfortable in order to perform.”

In the afore mentioned discussion, Faith Utuku, HR and Administration manager at BIMAS advices that, “Personal hygiene is very important….” She goes ahead to advice the HR to ask someone that is close to the perfume ‘offender’ to speak to them about the uncomfortable scenario.

“At times, such people are not even aware that they are causing the discomfort of others in the office. It could end up being a very easy problem to resolve,” she says.

Guiam Wainwright the Managing Director at Hallmark Recruitment adds his two cents by advising that discussing issues such as dress code and oduor is the is the work of the line manager and not HR. “HR should have slightly more relevant issues to be addressing,” he says.

What’s your say about this contentious topic and have you in the past been put in the corner by the HR due to your non professional dressing codes and body oduor as we’ve seen in this case?

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