The Harvard Business School recently conducted research about the conflicted approach that professionals might have to conformity in the workplace.
Whether or not conformity is best – or valuable – is probably something that companies will debate for a long time. But the research, as described in The Wall Street Journal, notes that there has been a shift in the way that different people command respect: Traditional behavior might not carry as much "social capital" as an individualist style.
The Harvard research speaks to how strong choices in fashion, for example, can gain attention in positive ways.
Part of the study included polling retail workers at an Italian store about their opinion of shoppers in different kinds of dress. Those customers who looked less formal and didn't wear "rich" outfits were actually judged to be more financially well-off than those in formal clothes. The deliberateness behind the choice was part of what made it attractive, researcher Silvia Bellezza described.
But a comedian, trader and CNBC contributor writing under the name "Raj Mahal" didn't buy the conclusions that the report came to and said that the real quality of a person's character isn't measured by the way that they appear.
"On Wall Street, you don't want to stand out for what you wear or your 'look,'" the author said. "You want to stand out because you are good at your job."
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