Ties don't make you a better boss
Jennifer Simpson’s letter criticises Howard Farrand for not wearing a tie (Inside Housing, 29 January).
SIGN IN TO ACCESS THIS CONTENT
You've reached your monthly limit for unrestricted access to Inside Housing content. To get free unrestricted access simply sign in below, or register your details.
Sign In
If you are already registered sign in for unrestricted access to alll the content on the site.
Welcome to the global village. As developing social groups grew too large for personal identification we turned to symbols for identifiers of role and status, such as the tie.
Professions and bureaucracies have used them for more than 100 years but they don’t make you better at your job. For many people, the tie perpetuates an anachronistic uniform and it can hide or even reinforce mediocrity.
We have regained our ability to build relationships on personal trust and not just symbols. The world now has a huge diversity of respectable and acceptable dress codes without the need for a tie. A suit and shirt with open collar is just one of them.
Bob Keats, social housing course leader, Southampton Solent University