Views

Time for sun, sandals … and the casual dress memo

Here’s a post that's silly and serious at once. As we can see, the weather is getting warmer. And when the mercury rises, so does the risk that your company’s dress code may be violated. If you’re a company that has a “casual Friday” benefit, the violations may be even more … shall we say, aggressive.

I find that it’s best to laugh a little before tackling a touchy issue. So, first, I offer you this joke I found online that I have a feeling you’ll be able to relate to.

Casual Fridays:

Week 1 - Memo No. 1
Effective this week, the company is adopting Fridays as Casual Day. Employees are free to dress in the casual attire of their choice.

Week 3 - Memo No. 2
Spandex and leather micro-miniskirts are not appropriate attire for Casual Day. Neither are string ties, rodeo belt buckles or moccasins.

Week 6 - Memo No. 3
Casual Day refers to dress only, not attitude. When planning Friday's wardrobe, remember image is a key to our success.

Week 8 - Memo No. 4
A seminar on how to dress for Casual Day will be held at 4 p.m. Friday in the cafeteria. A fashion show will follow. Attendance is mandatory.

Week 9 - Memo No. 5
As an outgrowth of Friday's seminar, a 14-member Casual Day Task Force has been appointed to prepare guidelines for proper casual-day dress.

Week 14 - Memo No. 6
The Casual Day Task Force has now completed a 30-page manual entitled "Relaxing Dress Without Relaxing Company Standards." A copy has been distributed to every employee. Please review the chapter "You Are What You Wear" and consult the "home casual" versus "business casual" checklist before leaving for work each Friday. If you have doubts about the appropriateness of an item of clothing, contact your CDTF representative before 7 a.m. on Friday.

Week 18 - Memo No. 7
Our EAP has now been expanded to provide support for psychological counseling for employees who may be having difficulty adjusting to Casual Day.

Week 20 - Memo No. 8
Due to budget cuts in the HR Department we are no longer able to effectively support or manage Casual Day. Casual Day will be discontinued, effective immediately.

Now, of course, no one wants to send Memo No. 8, since stats show that casual dress days are a highly valued, but cheaply offered, benefit — and who doesn’t like those? So, now that I’ve given you humor, I’ll give you some help. Read this EBN article on effectively setting and enforcing dress codes, and get extra legal tips from this related podcast.

With the right policy and a little luck, you can have a spring/summer dress policy that’s casual without being a catastrophe. Hit the comments to share your casual dress success stories and horror stories.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS