With a large percentage of us working from home, the “office dress code” is a thing of the past. There’s no longer any need to change out of your pajamas or brush your hair. And on the rare occasions when you actually might be seen by your coworkers (for instance, on a video conference call), there are comfy clothes for that! Lately, I’ve seen a lot of ads for things like “a pajama top that looks like a work shirt” and “a bathrobe that looks like a cardigan.” (I’m actually kind of tempted to buy that bathrobe/cardigan thing. It looks pretty awesome.)

CNBC reported that sales of pajamas online have shot up 143% in April, as compared to March. Meanwhile, sales of pants have dropped by 13%.

And on “Good Morning America,” one of their reporters recently did a segment from his home wearing a shirt and suit jacket — and no pants. Apparently, he didn’t realize that his legs would be visible.

So that brings us to an interesting question. How many of your coworkers are actually wearing pants right now? According to a survey conducted by YouGov, it’s quite possible that only half of them are. In their survey (conducted on April 23rd and 24th of this year), YouGov asked a group of Americans how often they wear pants while working from home. They answered as follows:

  • All the time – 53%
  • Most of the time – 22%
  • Sometimes – 12%
  • Rarely – 5%
  • Never – 7%
  • Don’t know – 1%

So 12% of your coworkers only wear pants “sometimes.” And another 12% are definitely not wearing pants right now. 

The same survey found that employees will make an effort to fix themselves up for a video conference call – but not that much of an effort. 54% brush their hair. 49% brush their teeth. And 39% put on nicer clothes. Although it’s really only necessary to look nice from the waist up. Pants, of course, are optional!

Working from home can be really challenging. It can be lonely, there are often distractions (especially if you have pets and kids), and it can be difficult to communicate with your coworkers and coordinate your efforts. But there are some benefits too! One of those benefits is cozy clothes. Every day, we can wear what we feel most comfortable in, whether that includes pants or not.

Ballard, J. (2020, May 1). Only about half of your coworkers are always wearing pants while working from home. YouGov. Retrieved from: https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2020/05/01/wearing-pants-remote-work-poll-survey