While getting ready this morning, I listened to a piece on NPR, Workers Dressing Better To Hold On To Jobs:

The recession is changing the workplace in many ways. Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway says many workers are kicking it up a notch with dressier work clothes and more formal e-mails. Kellaway tells Renee Montagne that's because employees are trying to hold onto their jobs.

Listen to the piece here.

In her Financial Times column, Lucy Callaway has argued in the past that dressing to impress lifts spirits and increases productivity. She advocates for replacing Casual Friday with High Heels Fridays:

I have a friend who has just been appointed to a senior managerial job and her first decision has been to launch High Heels Friday. Early soundings suggest that this is going to be popular with her female staff. When the economy is grim, we need to dress up to cheer up.

Of course, many disagree with Lucy. Commenters on the NPR story point out that "No amount of make-up and a dressy work suit could turn someone into an efficient and productive employee" and prefer a workplace where "as long as we are decent, what is inside our heads is more important than how we are adorned."

In any event, today I wore heels, a gorgeous pair of new sling backs that promise blisters by noon. I might actually be more productive, as Lucy suggests, if only because I will spend more time sitting at my desk.