CASUAL DRESS DAYS
Introduction
Many businesses have begun using a casual dress policy on certain days. Implementing dress-down days may be an effective way to boost employee morale. The question that seems to pop up too often is whether dress-down days are a benefit or burden to the company. Many companies have adopted Friday as a casual or dress-down day, while others have made casual business attire a full-time policy. Some employees view wearing casual business clothing as an employee benefit. To others, it is a disaster. Both men and women are often confused about what “casual” means and about how to dress casually and still look professional. Some people in management positions feel employees goof off on casual dress day. This report will look at all these issues as well as a conclusion about the effectiveness of casual dress days.
CASUAL DRESS DAY DEFINITION
Definition and Description
The definition of casual-dress days is dependent upon such variables as gender, geographic location, type of firm, and the day’s activities. For instance, dressing casually for an accountant means khakis with a nice shirt. Someone who works as a high school teacher may be able to wear jeans and a nice shirt. Most
businesses do not see T-shirts as an acceptable form of attire. Although it may be a casual dress day, clothing should still be neat, clean, and pressed. Clothing should not be offensive, tasteless, revealing, or sloppy. If an employee feels he or she might be underdressed, he or she probably is.
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Businesses That Have Casual-Dress Days
Many businesses have adopted casual-dress days as a tool to boost employee morale. Management likes to use this as a benefit because it is free. Types of businesses that have casual-dress days are businesses in which employees do not have many interactions with clients. Accounting firms, insurance companies, and many corporate offices use the casual-dress policy. These businesses have casual-dress days to increase worker productivity, to have more open communication between staff and managers, cost savings to employees because casual business wear is less expensive, and improved work quality. Many companies do not have casual-dress days because there are many ways wearing casual clothing can hurt business. Employees may interpret the word casual too liberally and wear inappropriate clothing. The professional image may also be weakened if clients feel employees are too casual to be entrusted with their business. Uniformity and conformity is often lost because all the employees look different. This may make some feel uncomfortable or less presentable in professional situations. Some employees may not be taken seriously or seen as effective when dressed casually.
Most companies have adopted Friday as casual-dress day. “The idea for casual Fridays spawned from fund-raising initiatives by charitable organizations that
engaged employers to allow employees to buy the privilege to wear casual attire to work by donating money to the charitable organization.” In the past ten years, the trend toward dress-down Fridays has spread through the corporate world so much that 90 percent of United States workers wear casual clothing to the office at least part of the time.
EMPLOYEE EFFICIENCY
Ways Casual Dress Affects Employee Efficiency
The way many employees work on casual-dress days may also become casual. Many managers feel dress-down days are a bad idea because employees feel they have a free day rather than another day at work. Employees tend to talk with other employees about things that are not related to work on casual-dress days. This leads to the employees accomplishing fewer tasks than on a normal-dress day. Many companies do not allow employees in sales positions to take part in casual-dress days because potential customers often feel the can not trust a company with a casual atmosphere. Many times, sales associates do not suggest a sale as well on casual-dress days because they feel they do not have to work as hard as they would on a normal day. Many employees have the “I don’t care about the quality of my work” attitude on casual-dress days. This leads to lost quality and lost productivity.
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... managers, cost savings to employees because casual business wear is less expensive, and improved work quality (Gutierrez & Freese, 1999). Casual dress was received so well ... to have a dress down day commented that a casual dress style would inspire casual or sloppy work. Additionally, there was a concern that casual dress could turn ...
How the Business Is Represented
Companies do not impress customers as well on casual-dress days as they would on normal-dress days. Many companies do not allow any personnel who have contact with customers to dress casually. This is because the business does not want to be represented as a “casual” company. The customers may feel they can not do business with a company that allows such a casual atmosphere.
EMPLOYEE MORALE
Casual-Dress Day Can Be a Morale Booster
Many businesses have casual-dress days because they are such a boost to employee morale. Casual-dress days give employees something to look forward to after a long and stressful week. Casual day can be one of the least expensive and most effective morale boosters. In a recent survey, 72 percent agreed with the statement “Wearing casual clothing at work improves morale.” Casual-dress days give employees a reason to enjoy their work more. When an employee likes what he or she is doing, that person is more likely to do better work. Management likes anything that is free and improves productivity and quality.
Importance of Employee Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is important in any business because if employees are not satisfied at work, they are more likely to lose interest in their job. When this happens the business does not operate as efficiently as it should and customers may be lost due to lack of quality. Management knows how important employee satisfaction is and they want to improve it as much as they can. Casual-dress day is a good way for management to improve employee satisfaction because it is free. Other than feeling good at work, employees are also satisfied with the cost of casual-dress days. Most employees already own clothing suitable for casual-dress days. This means they have
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to spend less money and that always gives employees satisfaction.
SUMMARY
Casual-dress days have both good and bad traits. Overall, casual-dress days have more positive traits than negative traits. I feel casual-dress days are good for a business. Casual-dress days give employees something to look forward to after a long week at the office. Sometimes employees slack off on casual-dress days but numerous reports show they work harder on regular days because casual-dress days are good for morale. Casual-dress days are very important for employee morale. Employee’s work tends to be better at companies that have casual-dress days because they appreciate their job more. Although it is better for some employees not to dress casually because they represent the company to customers, there are many employees that casual-dress days can help tremendously. Casual-dress days open employees to have more interactions with other employees and management. This causes for better relationships within the company. Casual-dress days boost employee morale, improve quality of work, and improve the speed at which work is done. I feel casual-dress days should be used more by businesses because the positive affects can be endless.
