The Debate: Is it okay to wear shorts to the office?
In the midst of a British heatwave, it’s time to ask the big question: is it permissible to wear shorts to the office? Our writers battle it out in this week’s Debate
YES: Comfort is essential to focus and productivity
With UK office workers feeling the heat (literally) as temperatures soar to the high 20s, office workers are facing a dress code dilemma: how do you stay cool while also keeping professional? One answer would be to wear shorts – but Brightmine data shows that 39 per cent of employers don’t allow shorts, rising to 61 per cent in the finance sector.
While professional dress codes remain important in many contexts, it’s worth asking whether current policies and practices are keeping pace with the realities of modern working life.
When temperatures rise, comfort becomes essential, and there’s strong evidence that being comfortable supports focus and productivity. Smart, tailored shorts can be just as appropriate as other business-casual options, especially in settings where formal client-facing roles aren’t the norm.
There’s also a wider inclusion point to consider. The flexibility offered by relaxed dress codes can benefit neurodivergent employees, such as those with autism, in a significant way. For some, certain fabrics or clothing styles can cause distress, particularly in the heat.
And for many, clothing is a way of expressing identity. Allowing more choice (within reason) helps create a workplace culture where individuals feel seen and respected. That kind of trust and flexibility will foster greater belonging – which feeds into better engagement.
Ultimately, allowing weather-appropriate clothing is about giving people the flexibility to perform at their best. As work culture continues to evolve, rethinking dress codes is a small but meaningful step towards a more inclusive, practical and productive workplace.
Bar Huberman is content manager at Brightmine
NO: Shorts declare indifference, inattention, overfamiliarity
Sartorial conventions exist and they matter. Even if you profess indifference to them, your indifference is in itself a stance, because you are setting aside convention, breaking rules and making a statement to others about yourself.
Don’t let that statement be “I like shorts”. Men should not be wearing shorts in the office unless they are serving in the British Indian Army c. 1928 (which applies to vanishingly few), or unless – no, there isn’t another “unless”. Of course if your workplace has any kind of dress code requiring even semi-formal attire, then shorts don’t even enter the conversation; if you think a suit can include shorts rather than trousers, there’s no salvation.
Even in the realm of the casual workplace, shorts are a step too far. Never mind that they would require far more attention to leg grooming than most men will ever undertake. They reveal too much, whether ivory-white hairless shins, matted whorls of fur or bony knees.
I know what you’re thinking. “Women can bare their legs in a professional setting!” you protest. True, but the greater truth is, as Joe Jackson sang, is this: it’s different for girls.
Clothes perform a basic function of regulating our temperature and, since Eve was beguiled by the serpent and made an unwise dietary choice, hiding our nakedness. But that is only a fraction of what they do: they advertise, announce and assert our identities, and there is no-one of whom that is not true. In a professional setting, shorts say nothing good. They declare indifference, inattention, overfamiliarity.
The last homme sérieux to wear shorts was Field Marshal Montgomery. May he, and they, rest in peace.
Eliot Wilson is a Morning Wire columnist and contributing editor at Defence On The Brink
THE VERDICT: Clothes make the man
In the increasingly liberal world of the modern workplace, there is perhaps one taboo that appears destined to outlast the rest: wearing shorts in the office. But as British summers heat up, and in-office air conditioning remains a distant dream for many, could it be time to let the knees of the great British workforce run free?
While Ms Huberman argues that clothing is a powerful way of expressing identity, it is for this exact reason that Mr Wilson urges the opposite: the slovenliness of being a shorts-wearer is the exact sort of identity that should be kept under wraps. And he has a point – if you’re wearing shorts because you can’t be bothered, that will be communicated.
That being said, there are some important ifs and buts, and, as with almost all matters of business, really, it’s a matter of styling. If you can really pull off a matching shorts and jacket set (and if you can, you’ll know) please, by all means go for it. But for the rest of us – that’s the 99.5 per cent of men by the way – can we get serious please? Get those legs away and, if you’re really too hot, may we suggest linen.