Casual Fridays

I currently work for a company that only requires business attire one day per week. We host a weekly event, so the beginning of the week is preparation and very few clients come for business purposes. Then, at the end of the week, hundreds of clients attend the event. On that day, and only that day, we are expected to dress up and look presentable. There is an obvious difference in behavior and performance, and it cannot completely be attributed to the excitement over the event. In fact, a few months prior, we had not been required to dress up at any time. While courting a special new VIP customer, we were asked to dress up just for the occasion. The reaction was so positive, that management knew they had to make it permanent.

As an employee, I love casual Fridays. As a patron or a patient, I loathe it! Is there anything different about your clientele or your business routine on Friday that calls for dressing down? Or is it just an excuse to let your hair down and prepare for the weekend on the clock? The only legitimate reason to dress down on Friday is if your store is closed and the staff is cleaning or restocking. If there is any risk in interacting with the public, you need to look professional during all hours of operation! Especially is this so if you are an institution that handles money or practices law or medicine. Once, I happened to be depositing money on Halloween and all of the bank tellers were in costume. One was dressed as a hillbilly with ragged clothes and a tooth blackened to appear as if it were missing. But the prize for inappropriate attire has to go to the teller dressed as a pirate. I mean, everyone knows that pirates are just thieves on water, right? I get the irony, but come on.