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Attire, attitude hinder promotions, survey finds

July 06, 2015

Provocative clothing, a disheveled appearance and unprofessional haircut are a few things that cause employers to think twice before making a promotion, according to a survey by Careerbuilder. Behaviors such as exhibiting a negative attitude, consistently arriving late or gossiping can also work against promotion candidates.

“In addition to on-the-job accomplishments, employers also take attitude, behavior and appearance into consideration when deciding who deserves to move up in the ranks,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “While your work performance may be strong, if you’re not presenting yourself in a professional manner, it may be preventing your superiors from taking you seriously.”

When asked which aspects of a worker’s physical appearance would make them less likely to promote that person, 44% of employers were most out of favor with provocative attire and 43% cited wrinkled clothes or shabby appearance. Other answers include:

  • Piercings outside of traditional ear piercings: 32%
  • Attire that is too casual for the workplace: 27%
  • Visible tattoos: 27%
  • An unprofessional or ostentatious haircut: 25%
  • Unprofessional or ostentatious facial hair: 24%
  • Bad breath: 23%
  • Heavy perfume or cologne: 21%
  • Too much makeup: 15%

Employers also revealed the top behaviors that hurt an employee’s chances for promotion, with poor attitudes and consistent tardiness taking the top spot.

  • Having a negative or pessimistic attitude: 62%
  • Regularly showing up to work late: 62%
  • Using vulgar language: 51%
  • Regularly leaving work early: 49%
  • Taking too many sick days: 49%
  • Gossiping: 44%
  • Spending office time on personal social media accounts: 39%
  • Neglecting to clean up after himself/herself: 36%
  • Always initiating non-work-related conversations with co-workers: 27%
  • Taking personal calls at work: 24%
  • Taking smoke breaks: 19%

This survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,175 hiring and human resource managers. It was conducted between Feb. 11 and March 6, 2015.