Fridays are probably every working person’s favorite day of the work week. Other than the obvious springboard to the weekend, another contributing factor may be the observance of Casual Friday. The custom of relaxing the formal dress code on Fridays started in America and spread to Canada almost immediately. Now, it is observed in many parts of the world.
Originally begun in the late 1950s, Casual Fridays were an attempt to raise worker morale in the new office-oriented white-collar working environment. The slowly spreading custom got a big boost in the 1970s when manufacturers of casual clothing launched a massive advertising campaign for comfortable inexpensive clothing that they labeled appropriate for business casual dress. During the Dot Com hey-day of the late 1990s and early 2000s some companies allowed workers to wear shorts and sandals to work. After the Dot Com crash, a whiplash effect rippled through many work settings and dress codes were reinstated.
Today, Casual Friday continues to evolve. Many offices generalize Casual Friday into a mini celebration of a successfully completed week. Refreshments often adorn the break room tables; coworkers go out to lunch; theme attire such as Hawaiian shirt day or funny hat day are initiated once or twice a month to infuse some lighthearted spirit into the office setting.
With the rough economic times of the late 2000s, stress levels are high in every level of working society. In addition to Casual Friday attire and refreshments, there’s an active trend toward addressing stress by allowing stress relief items on desks and personal decor in cubicles and offices. Maybe Casual Friday will evolve into Casual Thursday, then Casual Wednesday and Casual Tuesday, leaving Business Monday as the new custom.
Image courtesy of Kimberly.
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