Email Sent to All Employees for 'Basic Etiquette Campaign'
Some Staff Protest... Criticism Posted on 'Blind'
Bio company Celltrion has introduced strict dress code regulations, including banning jeans and requiring executives to wear suits, which has led to some employees expressing opposition.
According to a Yonhap News report on the 21st, Celltrion sent a notification email titled 'Campaign to Uphold Basic Workplace Etiquette' to all employees on the 19th. In the email, the company asked employees to adhere to neat work attire, stating, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, casual dress was allowed considering various difficulties such as wearing gowns when moving between factories, but as the pandemic situation has eased, these difficulties have been resolved. We now ask you to once again dress appropriately as professionals and renew your commitment to the workplace and your duties." Gowning refers to changing into protective clothing such as cleanroom suits before entering pharmaceutical production factories.
Seo Jung-jin, Chairman of Celltrion
Specifically, the dress code includes ▲ prohibition of round-neck T-shirts, jeans, sweatpants, hoodies, and slipper socks ▲ business casual attire such as polo shirts, cotton pants, black sneakers, and neat jackets ▲ executives must wear suits at minimum. Additionally, employees are asked not to line up early during lunch breaks and to greet supervisors and colleagues with a nod.
As a result, some Celltrion employees have voiced their dissatisfaction mainly on the anonymous workplace community 'Blind.' One employee claimed, "Today, less than an hour before leaving work, a sudden notice was issued saying that the dress code will be enforced starting tomorrow," adding, "(The reason) is that the chairman visited the company and was displeased." The employee also said, "The chairman himself wore an Under Armour T-shirt, and the chairman's son wore Crocs." Under Armour is a sportswear brand, and Crocs mainly produce comfortable shoes such as sandals or slippers.
There are also rumors that the company is imposing regulations beyond the dress code, such as 'prohibition of mobile phone use during working hours' and 'no access to the cafeteria.' Employees responded with comments like, "They are telling us not to even go to the company pantry, does that mean we can't even drink water while working?" and "I can't believe this is happening in 2023."
Celltrion's management told Yonhap News, "This was a recommended notice intended to create an environment conducive to focusing on work as COVID-19 eases and daily life resumes," adding, "It is an extension of the ongoing in-house campaign 'Going to the Basic,' which encourages habitual tidiness to improve the work environment." They also stated that community posts about prohibitions on mobile phone and cafeteria use beyond the 'neat attire' rule are distorted information.
Meanwhile, Seo Jung-jin, Celltrion's honorary chairman who declared his retirement in March 2021, made a sudden return to frontline management last month after two years.
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