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Bella Breakdown

The workplace isn’t like it used to be. Before, you could walk into American business and see the employees sitting in cubicles wearing business attire, but now you’ll find employees lounging in bubbles chairs and wearing casual clothing.

That seems the new trend in office culture after a study has found that half of the workers follow a casual or smart casual dress code at work, allowing for jeans and other dress-down items in the office. 23 percent consider the rules at their place of work to be ‘mostly smart,’ making allowance for casual touches.

A spokesperson for global fashion search platform Lyst, which commissioned the study to support their comprehensive assessment of denim said, “As work hours have increased and the ‘always on’ culture has come to prominence thanks to developments in tech and connectivity, the lines between our work lives and our home lives have blurred.”

Other companies who have adopted a more casual dress code have also seen an increase in productivity and energy from employees. “When people feel more comfortable in their work environment, when they can reflect their personality more, they feel good about themselves and feel good about their workplace. It’s been extremely well-received by all our associates,” one employer said.

This new shift in office clothing could be due to Millennials beginning to take over the workforce and seeing tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg show up in t-shirts and sweatpants. The relaxed dress has become so common that “Casual Fridays” feel archaic in many corners, and at least one company, Airbnb in San Francisco, has opted for Formal Fridays, a chance for employees to jazz up their threads.