How casual can Friday be?

Dress casually to support the Cancer Foundation, Cranes for Brains, the Starlight Foundation or World Aids Day. It is a great way to raise money for a good cause. But what about the benefits of dressing casually on a weekly basis? When did Casual Friday emerge and is it impacting the workplace?

Casual Friday can be traced back to the 1950s, an initiative to boost the morale of white-collared workers. A slow uptake took off more strongly in the 1990s with the inception and boom of the internet.

In recent years, many businesses have re-examined dress codes and offered a weekly reprieve or loosened standards all together. In a competitive marketplace, initiatives such as Casual Friday are being adopted as a corporate strategy to offer an enjoyable and flexible work environment.

An IT consultant working in a business where suits and Casual Friday are the norm says, “I actually stopped wearing a suit a few years ago. I don't really deal with the public so I just thought why not? I started turning up in jeans and a t-shirt. No one ever questioned this and I suppose it fits in with the whole IT culture.”

“Now if I happen to dress up or wear a suit to work, everyone suspects I'm going for a job interview.” Interestingly, in that particular workplace, he is still the only one who doesn’t wear a suit to work.

Of course, for many managers Casual Friday is just not practical. In jobs without client contact it can work well. But in roles with regular meetings with governing bodies, the public and corporations, it can be difficult. Unexpected meetings would call for rapid superman acts, or may result in a lost networking opportunity.

Professional attire, especially in managerial roles exudes confidence, respect and authority. It distinguishes the individual as a serious and capable employee - with pride in his or her appearance and pride in the company.

It is generally accepted that dress should clearly be appropriate to the occasion and the situation. But isn’t comfort important too? Another employee says he has been campaigning for ages against having to wear ties unless client meetings are taking place. Now his area is having a "no-tie-trial-period".

Are Casual Fridays the last vestiges of school non-uniform days - highly anticipated breaks from uniformed drudgery?

Uniforms may indeed constrain the creative expression of some, but they do serve to signal professions in a simple and cost-effective manner. Then there were those kids that came to casual school days in uniform. They may have indeed forgotten but it was always suspected that they considered it preferable to revealing a lack of fashion or the money needed to acquire it.

The demands created by Casual Fridays can certainly be costly. The simple suit needs to be replaced with a gamut of outfits, not weekend attire mind you - thongs and ripped jeans are definitively out - but something in between.

And there is another major question for managers to consider: the effect on attitude?

Teachers used to make a habit of saying,  “Non-uniform is casual dress, not casual attitude.” Likewise, in organisations, an end of the working week foray can serve as the much-anticipated warm-up for the weekend ahead.

While some businesses proclaim an increase in productivity due to content employees, others suggest that as the uniforms come off so too do professional attitudes and job commitment. In these cases, perhaps a monthly approach would be more beneficial.

The bottom line? Thank God it’s Friday, Monday-itis and hump-day Wednesday, will always be a part of our working week. If casual dress is appropriate, reinforces the company culture and gives us a chance to get our suits cleaned each week, why not join your staff and enjoy it.