Suits, Ties, and the Office

I have a lot of suits and ties.  The ties are folded neatly in a drawer that I rarely open.  Some are solid, some have stripes, some have little animal prints.  I also have a lot of suits.  These are mostly tucked into the back of my closet.  Oh, I have some expensive leather shoes in a variety of styles, as well.  These, too, are stored in various states of disuse.  I no longer wear this stuff (but for rare exceptions).  The ties were the first to go.  I stopped wearing them sometime around 2015/2016.  At that time, I still wore suits and nice shoes, just no tie.  Shortly thereafter, the suits were replaced by sport coats and slacks.  These were still tailored, not casual.  But then, at some point, everything became more casual.  The nice leather shoes were traded in for the new style sneakers that everyone now wears, or Allbirds or some other more casual footwear.  These days I may not even wear a sport coat.  Vests are a nice option.  They’re flexible and nearly always sure to fit in with the prevailing attire of the day.  Plus they make me look sporty, or maybe techy.  A little more like I get it (even though I probably don’t).
 
What’s this got to do with office space, you ask?  Behaviors change.  If you told 1991 me that 2022 me would show up at work in khakis, a shirt and sneakers, I would have laughed so hard my silk suspenders would have come undone.  But here we are.  Lately I’ve been wondering, is the office of 2022 like the suit and tie of 2017?  In 2017 I occasionally wore a suite and tie, but I had the flexibility to choose not to.  In 2022, many employees occasionally go to the office, but they have the flexibility to choose not to. 
 
When I graduated from college I was given “Dress for Success”, a book offering vital guidance on how an aspiring young professional should dress to be taken seriously in the workplace.  Although broke, upon getting my first job in the brokerage industry, I was promptly instructed to buy a number of suits (navy or grey), shirts (solid white or blue), ties (solid or striped) and Allen Edmunds cap toe shoes (black).  During this period of my life, the office was where I went to experience the physical embodiment of everything I was striving to be professionally.  It was a stimulus-rich environment, full of sensory cues that fed my desire to learn.  It was in the office that I learned who was powerful and who was not.  High on caffeine, I learned the pathways to success (or at least success as it was defined in that office at that time in that market).  Did I have what it takes?  It wasn’t clear.  But if I was going to succeed, it would most certainly require emulating those who were successful.  The office was a proving ground.  The idea that I could somehow prove myself without physically being there was inconceivable.  I had to not only be there, but be there more than all my peers.  Lacking experience and skills, I realized the only thing I had to offer was hustle and time.
 
Young professionals entering the workforce today aren’t likely to harm their careers by not having read “Dress for Success”.  Indeed, they can save thousands of dollars not having to dress like they belong in the boardroom.  But if we shed the office like we did the suit and tie, how will younger generations learn to succeed?  Is this even a real question, or am I just too old and biased based on my experiences?  Is there some alternative pathway (Zoom meetings) that will replace the smell of fresh coffee and the experience of watching the office’s best performers do their thing?  David Solomon at Goldman Sachs has spoken extensively about the intrinsic and irreplaceable network values Goldman creates through its offices.  It’s clear he sees this as a secret sauce ingredient, vital to the firm’s success. 
 
As I navigate the changing world of workplace, I’m becoming increasingly concerned some companies are failing to fully appreciate the many values a thoughtful office can bring to their organization.  I don’t blame them, many are still hardwired to think about office space as an expense, not an investment.  But it seems to me corporations gave more thought to rolling out Casual Fridays than they’re giving to hybrid and remote work.   I confess becoming a bit nostalgic when I see photos of San Francisco in which men are all wearing suits and ties.  I’m hoping I won’t one day soon look back at images of people working in office buildings and feel the same.  More likely, as we settle into our new normal, some companies, having been quick to embrace a virtual-first posture, will learn the downsides of not having offices.  Maybe this is just all part of a healthy exercise in learning what really matters about the office?  Certainly elements of the pre-pandemic office (e.g., benching) were about as useful and practical as the tie.  My optimistic interpretation of what’s happening now is that we are on a transformational journey to a time when the office will be a place designed to fulfill very specific purposes, a physical space that is understood for the value it brings to the organization.  These will be better days for the office.  As for the suit and tie…I’m not so sure.