#FunFriday – Casual Fridays
As I was debating over what to write about, my buddy Anthony suggested I blog about the whole NBC situation. Their Jay Leno experiment had ratings dropping faster than 09′ stock prices. So NBC is reshuffling again, with all of their hopes tied to a guy with a huge chin and one funny skit - headlines. So that’s all you get NBC, 50 words on #FunFriday. I’d rather watch Eddie Murphy on YouTube.
Anyway, I digress. You know what is funny? Casual Fridays. Laurie Ruettimann at Punk Rock HR did a post this week on corporate dress codes and some of the comments were pretty funny. It got me thinking about dress codes and how companies try to make up for having overly strict policies by also having Casual Fridays.
Remember the guy in high school with the strict parents? What did he do when he got to college? They had no personal judgment and were the first ones passed out on the sticky frat house floor waking up covered in permanent marker tattoos. People love to go to extremes. You make me wear a suit Monday – Thursday, so on Casual Friday I come in looking like I am about to hit the beach.
So, Corporate America, here’s an idea: Set reasonable expectations for appropriate dress. Hire smart people that know how to adjust their business wardrobe based on their daily schedules. I’m a fan of applying the common sense principle here. Not every company can have a dress code like Rackspace. As a consultant – I certainly can’t show up at client meetings wearing “hippie wear and flip-flops”. The dress for your company should be driven by your culture, and your culture should be aligned with your business. When companies recruit and hire good, smart candidates that are a fit for their culture – they should know how to police their own wardrobe to represent the company. This might mean a suit, but it might mean jeans and a this cool social media t-shirt.
If someone is sitting in their cube everyday and will never see another person other than coworkers – don’t make them sport a suit and tie. But if you do require that for no reason, remember that you are like the strict parents sending your kid off to college – just asking for your employees to rock Hawaiian shirts and overly short cargo shorts on Fridays. The equivalent of waking up markered up on the frat house floor.
As someone with the super strict dress code of yoga pants and tank tops or jeans and hoodies, the thought that someone can’t get their work done if they aren’t in a suit and tie or that letting them wear “casual” clothes 1 day a week makes a huge difference is silly. I hate corporate dress code policies.
Great Post, Jason!
The last company I worked for was a software company. In the 7 story building that we worked in, our company had 4 of the floors. Each floor had a different dress code.
1st Floor – IT – Business Casual/Casual. More business casual.
2nd Floor – Customer/Technical Support – Wore whatever they wanted. Flip flops, hats, t-shirts…whatever. It made sense since they were on the phones all day with little to no interaction with clients.
6th Floor – Software Development – Casual, but not as casual as the Support Floor
7th Floor – Executives, Sales, Marketing, HR, Operations – Strict Business Casual, but if you decided to wear a t-shirt no one would say anything
While it was nice having a culture on each floor, it also sort of separated the company a bit. It almost felt like you didn’t belong if you strolled down to the 2nd floor…I always wanted to throw on a backwards hat when I was hanging down there
Jason – I work at Rackspace and actually wear that “cool social media t-shirt” on occasion. In fact, it was given to me and others by our VP of Marketing
Sarah – I wouldn’t expect anything less than yoga pants and tank tops from someone who is the brain behind http://imsocorporate.com. Thanks for the comment.
Rich – I’ve had some similar experiences, although usually by building, not by floor. That’s pretty funny. I say what the hell, rock the backwards hat if you’re feeling it. Just make sure it’s a Bruins hat buddy.
Robert – Thanks for visiting. When I was thinking about featuring a company with a laid back culture, I figured Rackspace fit the bill. Great company and love the corporate website. Sounds like your VP of Marketing has you guys pegged!
Its like we forget that Friday still accounts for 20% of our workweek
If your outfit doesn’t matter for 20% of your time, why does it matter for 40% or 60% – why do we have these magical cut of times of when we don’t have to be as “professional”
This is great! Sarah, I’m with you, yoga pants, tank tops and flip flops! Secret office confession: first thing we do when returning from client meetings – kick off the heels! (btwfyi – office full of women
). This is why I love what I do (advertising) and where I work (small/mid-sized company), no ridiculous corporate b.s. to sift through like a lame ass dress code. I’d love to see the research that proves a suited up workforce is more productive than a casual, comfortable one. Great post Jason! Now where do I get one of those SM t-shirts? Loves it!
I know that we’ve had this conversation before Jason, but I think it’s worth mentioning given the post – For me, the way I dress actually affects the way I work to some extent. It’s not that often that I work from home, but when I do I need to go through the motions as if I were heading into the office – wake up at the same time, shower, breakfast, etc, and put on “work clothes.”
Why do I do this? Otherwise, it feels like I’m hanging out at home on a saturday morning in my PJs, and my work ethic reflects it. Everyone has their own personal devices to help them focus – one of mine is putting on my “game outfit.”
[...] Davis on January 29, 2010 A few Friday’s ago I spoke candidly about what I thought about Casual Fridays, and the message was pretty clear: The dress for your company should be driven by your culture, and [...]
I agree. What is really wacky is that a former employer expected me to dress in khakis and collars. Now, I don’t mind although I have preferred neat jeans and a golf shirt. See, I work in logistics operations. And, that former employer required me to be a work participant moving furniture in the warehouse, in addition to managerial responsibilities and also meeting with clients. Several are the days when I would sweat my kahunas off only to meet with a client that afternoon. Good thing I am VERY charming.
BTW – The Marine above could have slipped on untied boots just as quickly as shower shoes. This photo was likely staged. Yeah, I am prior service and yeah I am allowed to say it. JMHO.
High – yeah, I would say staged, maybe. Photoshopped, definitely!