Halloween Costumes In the Workplace: Yay or Nay?

Thursday is going to be awkward...and quite frankly, I don't care!

Our parent company, Townsquare Media, loves Halloween! In fact, we got an e-mail in early October telling us to start planning our costumes because for the first time ever all of us that have the company's app actually get to pick the grand prize winner(s) out of the Top 5!

I've shared my love of cosplay with you, so you know I'm in it to win it! Unfortunately, the winners in this contest the winners usually come form a city where a ton of people in the building dress-up. For some reason in Boise, I'm like one of three employees that actually dress-up and that's why I'm struggling to decide which of my outfits to wear. If I'm going to go it alone, it's got to be the right costume.

I LOVE the costume I wore for the Halloween party on Saturday night, but all of 4 people could correctly identify what I was. (Starlight from the Prime Video series The Boys.)  The Captain Marvel suit I wore for the Meridian Trunk or Treat and Dance to the Beat is more recognizable and fairly screen accurate, but...I can't use the restroom in that one. It's a two person job to get it on and off. I'm so torn, but either way...you're damn straight that I'm dressing up on Thursday!

Wondering if you should participate in your office's costume contest? I say you should because life is always more fun in costume and actual studies show that you should, too!

According to a O.C. Tanner survey, about 45% of offices let and encourage their employees to dress up for Halloween. A deeper look into the survey responses showed that employees who dressed up were prouder to tell people where they worked and were more engaged in contributing to the success of their company.

If you do choose to dress up, US News offers these tips for keeping those costumes work place appropriate!

Make Sure the Costume Makes Sense for What You Do

We know that there's a bunch of folks that love listening to us at St. Luke's and St. Al's, so we'll use them as an example. If you work in a field like that where you may have to deliver bad news, you probably don't want to dress up as say Elsa or Anna from Frozen. That could make an already uncomfortable moment even more awkward or disrespectful.

You have to think function as well. I LOVE my Yoshi costume that I used for our Trunk-Or-Treat a few years ago, but the gloves only have four fingers. With how much I need to type or use a mouse during the workday, it's not the most functional at work costume.

It's Ok to Go Low Key

Now that I've mastered getting the boot covers over my shoes for my Wonder Woman costume, it won't take me eons to get dressed on Wednesday morning, but it's still a little more costume than I'm used to doing at work! If you're trying to think of something last minute, there's nothing wrong with doing a little "closet cosplay" where you build an entire costume around something that you already have. I did that last week before trunk or treat by throwing on a khaki hat, white shirt and leather jacket. It made a pretty decent casual Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.

Keep it Work Appropriate

Work's not the place to be showing off your assets. If you think for a second that your costume is showing too much skin, it probably is...throw another layer on underneath it. Be considerate of your co-workers too. Some of them might not find your Native American, Mexican or geisha costumes appropriate.

Don't Shame Those Who Don't Dress Up

Last year, one of my co-workers has chuckled every time I walked past him. He spent five and a half years on the other side of the desk from me and admitted had I not dressed up, he would've been let down. It's just who I am! That said, not all of my co-workers are into Halloween as much as I am and I'm not going to harp on them for it. They may have a good reason for not dressing up and I'm cool with that. Be nice to your less festive co-workers today.