When I worked in the US, I was always amused by the different attitudes toward dress in the workplace in different parts of the country or different industries. I worked for tech- and science-related companies in California, as well as an internship at the headquarters of a major clothing retailer, and you almost never saw suits in the workplace.
It's been a long time since I worked in the US, but the impression I had back then that still remains with me was that -- in the culture and industries I worked in-- the ability to do the work was more important that dressing up. Friends and coworkers from the East Coast, however, often stressed the importance of dressing professionally.
I've been working in Japan for more than a decade. When I first came to Japan, suits were standard for most of the year, with a more relaxed "cool biz" dress code -- think business casual, with short sleeves and no neckties -- in the summer. Japanese summers are oppressively hot and humid, and the government had introduced the "cool biz" concept to get businesses and government offices to reduce the energy used on air-conditioning in the summers.
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Jerry Pietrzak
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Beppu, Oita
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