JUST one in ten workers in Greater Manchester wears a suit to work, according to a new study.

Travelodge surveyed 2,000 British workers to investigate the modern office dress code, after the firm’s hotel managers reported a decline in the number of ties, cufflinks, tie pins and suits being left behind.

Forty three per cent of Mancunian workers also believed the business suit no longer has a place in the office and if they saw a colleague wearing a suit to work they would stick out like a score thumb.

Professor Karen Pine, psychologist at Hertfordshire University, said: “Over the last three decades, we have experienced a big movement in the workplace, where traditions and protocols and have fallen enormously.

“The biggest changes have included decline of hierarchy, the boss being less of an authoritarian figure and more of a coach, all colleagues being called by their first name and the biggest change, the transition from a formal dress code to a casual one.

“Having a dress-down Friday every day enables workers to be independent, and showcase their personality and attributes by how they dress rather than the position they hold. This leads to stronger bonds between co-workers and removes barriers, enabling everyone to get on with their jobs.”

When quizzed about dying work fashion trends, 42 per cent of Mancunian workers believe the tie has fallen out of favour. One in seven workers think the tie that has been around since the Roman times and died a death as a piece of office attire in the 2010s, while tie-clips fell out of favour in the late 80s.

Meanwhile, two thirds of Mancunian workers think high-waisted trousers would look out of place in the office these days. Only a quarter of adults think trouser braces would blend in in a modern workplace, and three in five would scoff at a colleague in a waistcoat.

The pocket square is also considered the preserve of late 80s business types, as are braces and cufflinks, which workers believe have looked out of place in the office for decades.

The top five items that Mancunian men and women would not wear in the modern workplace were:

Men:

Tie.

Trouser braces.

Waistcoat.

High-waisted trousers.

Pocket square.

Women:

Skirt suit.

Shoulder pads.

Pinafore.

Hair bow.

Mary Jane shoes.

Respondents in Manchester were also asked which business figures have influenced the change in work attire over the years and taking first position was Virgin founder, Sir Richard Branson as the smart casual style guru. Branson, now 67, famously ditched a suit and tie in the mid-nineties in favour of an open-neck shirt and pair of Levi’s jeans.