Bayern LB gives employees sneakers – economy

In the elevator of a southern German company, the top boss once said to one of his young employees: “We don’t pay you so much money to buy white sneakers.” That was ten or twelve years ago, which shows how sustainable the trend towards light-colored footwear in the workplace is. The early skepticism of superiors has since given way to general acceptance. It probably started with former Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche, who at some point started wearing jeans and white sneakers. He actually only put on a suit and loafers when he had an appointment with the head of his bank.

The bench has long been considered the last bastion of serious clothing style. But this too has long since fallen. Even before Covid broke out, there were initial reports of savings banks abolishing the tie requirement for male employees. The pandemic and working from home have increased the trend towards casual and sloppy clothing. And so white sneakers, the symbol of modernity, dominate in offices today. Anyone who still wears welted brogues seems somehow out of time.

The new motto in many companies: Come as you are

Pursue Not only do they not mind if their employees come to work in white sneakers, they actually encourage it. Even those from such conservative industries. Since September, Bayerische Landesbank has been offering its employees free special “corporate sneakers”. These are white Adidas shoes with the Bayern LB logo printed small on the side. There were similar actions at Deutsche Bank and at Ipex-Bank, the foreign division of the state development bank KfW.

Bayern LB came up with the idea six months ago when it completed the “Focus 2024 transformation program”. It was an austerity program launched in 2020, with which 900 jobs were cut, mostly through early retirement in a socially acceptable manner. The board members celebrated this – and the recent good numbers – with a party in the Showpalast Munich, where they wore the corporate sneakers and announced that every employee could order them.

2,400 of the 2,650 employees have now done so, “and the shoes are worn diligently at work,” says a company spokesman. The “come as you are” principle has been in effect at Bayern LB for three years now. Anyone who has an appointment with a traditional customer can of course continue to dress conservatively. But otherwise: “Jeans, chinos, white shirt, vest, sneakers – that’s how you walk around these days,” says the speaker. From the trainee to the CEO, everyone is on first name terms. The spokesman is convinced that this and the new dress code will “promote culture and break down hierarchies.”