Photo: Walmart
Walmart is testing a new dress code at 100 of its stores that will allow associates to toss their khakis and substitute solid blue jeans instead. Associates are also given a choice in shirt colors that go beyond the current requirement of solid blue or white.
The retailer revised its dress code in 2015, allowing workers engaged in physically demanding jobs to wear t-shirts instead of ones with collars, Bloomberg reports. Another change involved a decision by the company to no longer hire workers with visible facial tattoos.
The move to more casual attire in the workplace has been going on for decades at this point. A 2017 survey by the Society for Human Resources, reported by CBS News, found that 44 percent of employers across all industries allow workers to dress casually every day.
The test of a more relaxed dress code seems in line with Walmart’s well-publicized efforts to improve its image as an employer. The company has raised wages and paid a one-time bonus to eligible employees earlier this year following a cut in its corporate tax rate.
As to the likelihood that associates in Walmart’s stores across the country will be wearing jeans in the near future, a company spokesperson told CBS, "We are always testing new ideas and concepts in a small number of our stores. Some of these tests are expanded while others are retired. We won't know next steps on this test until we've had a chance to learn what works and what could work better."