Early in her career, Ellen Taaffe got some advice she didn’t like. Taaffe, who enjoys wearing bright colors, was told by her boss that her red blazers were making her stand out in the wrong way. She should wear a navy blazer, like the rest of her team.

Taaffe, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations and author of the recent book The Mirrored Door, has subsequently thought a lot about how we present ourselves at work. But at the time of the red blazer showdown, she didn’t know what to think or do. Should she wear the clothes that felt right to her—or accept this as one of those parts of herself that she doesn’t bring to the office?

Today, we’ll delve into the thorny issue of personal authenticity in the workplace. We’ll also discuss what happens when wealthy foreigners move to popular global cities.

How should you present yourself at work?

In the end, Taaffe didn’t ditch her red blazers. And in a recent episode of The Insightful Leader podcast, she explained that she’s glad she stuck to her guns. It made room for other people to shed the unofficial navy blue uniform, too. “So I think that was helpful,” she said.

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent years about the importance of being able to bring our whole selves to work. There are a lot of good reasons for this, particularly when it comes to creating a workplace that feels inclusive to people who haven’t always been included.

But it’s also important to acknowledge that, fair or not, how we show up at work could affect how we are treated.

For instance, wearing pajamas at work probably doesn’t send the right message about your level of professionalism or how much you respect the people around you. But dressing too fancily can backfire, too. Take this research from Derek Rucker, a professor of marketing, who has researched how people react to luxury brands. In one study, he found that mentioning high-status items can hurt job candidates applying for positions that require a lot of personal warmth (for example, human resources).

Rucker says he thinks about how he dresses more than he used to “because I realized there may be unintended signals that I send,” he said. “And so I don’t obsess about it to the point where it’s like, let me think about every single item every single day. … But if I’m meeting new people, I think a little more about what I will wear and how I present myself.”

So, how do you decide when it’s worth it to present yourself as you truly are—and when not to? And how can managers create an environment where people feel safe to be themselves in the right ways? For more on how to thread these needles, you can listen to the whole episode.

See you next week!

Susie Allen, senior research editor
Kellogg Insight