Winding the week in style

Sep 04, 2011

STIFF collar shirts, formal suits, knee length suit skirts, jackets and dressy shoes are the norm in the corporate world dress code.

By Carol Kezaabu

STIFF collar shirts, formal suits, knee length suit skirts, jackets and dressy shoes are the norm in the corporate world dress code.

For Peter Rwabogo, a young worker new to the corporate world, dressing the part is becoming tougher than the work itself. But as the week drags on, Rwabogo has found one day of the week that isn’t so bad. If Monday is Peter’s nemesis, Friday is quickly becoming his bliss. On Friday, he gets to let his hair down because it is dress down day at his work place.

And like Rwabogo, Friday is the greatest day of the week for many a working folk. The promise of the weekend resonates through the office corridors. The mood in the office is upbeat and employees get through their work much faster and wait impatiently for the clock out time. Dress down day is also known as casual Friday. Employees are allowed to tone down their formal dress code for a more relaxing look.

Many companies have adopted the Friday culture; even people higher up on the command chain can drop the jacket or tie to appear more approachable.

Origins
Casual Friday originated in corporate America in the 1950s as a way of raising morale in the new white-collar office environment. It was only adopted by a few companies until the 1970s when large clothing producers campaigned to make casual Friday a weekly event. The dot-com generation popularised Friday in the late 1990s and early 2000s to the point where even shorts and sandals were allowed in the workplace.

In the developed world, some companies have been known to organise dress down events where they charge their employees a small fee in order to dress down. The money is then donated to charity. For example in Australia, the Cancer Council of Queensland has benefited from such donations.

In Canada, they have the Nation Dress Down Day, an annual event to raise money for research. Companies, schools, organisations and even schools ask their employee to donate $5 (about sh12,000) and they in turn get to dress down for the day.

Why dress down?
In Uganda, though it has nothing to do with charity, this particular culture has sneaked on to us just like many western trends have in the past. Employees in many organisations dress down on Fridays. Rwabogo says his weekend more or less starts on Friday morning because getting out of the formal dress is very liberating.

Vincent Kaheeru, country director of Profiles International, a human resource consultancy firm, says casual Friday is good culture because dress code is important in the work/life balance. For many young people, entering the corporate world for the very first time, the change wardrobe is a little difficult to adjust to. Dressing the part can add to the stress of workloads and other work demands. It is, therefore, necessary to have the option to tone it down every once in a while.

What is casual?
The debate of what constitutes casual Friday apparel thus ensues. The term casual is contentious and many employees have been known to stretch the meaning to fit their style and taste in dressing. For organisations that do not put image at the forefront of the company’s identity, employees get away with all kinds of fashion faux pas as casual Friday dress code. For corporate companies that value company image above anything else, casual Friday or dress down Friday can still be restrictive.

Kaheeru says the administration should give guidelines regarding dress code on dress down days to avoid fashion blunders that may paint the company in bad light. Daniel Nsibambi, the communications manager of Stanbic Bank says the casual Friday policy at the bank is smart or business casual. To provide for errors in judgment, there are more specific rules that are issued to guide dress code on Fridays so that employees don’t tone down so much.

“No round neck t-shirts, jeans, shorts, open or canvas shoes are allowed on dress down days,” says Nsibambi.

A fashion designer and expert says smart casual means finding or striking a balance between casual and smart dress code.

It means dressing professionally but still managing to look relaxed, neat and pulled together. “The men can wear a nice pair of suit trousers or khakis, with a short sleeved shirt or T-shirt with a collar. Dropping the tie and jacket from the formal business suit can achieve the smart casual; the key is not to reveal too much skin or dress too shabbily. While jeans can qualify as smart casual, if paired off with a good top and shoes, many corporate companies do not allow jeans on dress down day.

A senior manager at one of the telecoms in town says T-shirts and even trainers are accepted as dress down garb on Fridays. The company does not have a specific policy but says the employees are expected to be decent and presentable. Alternatively, many companies today have company shirts or T-shirts with a logo; these too have become popular dress down attire.

Exceptions
But, not everyone gets to enjoy the privilege of a dress down. A doctor at Mulago Hospital says the dress code while on duty is very important and administration is very strict about it. While the ladies dress code is more flexible, all male doctors are expected to be smart every day and Friday is no exception.

Dress down day is an opportunity for employees to work in a more relaxed but professional clothing. But with so many choices, it is very possible for one to commit a fashion crime so bad it could ruin your career. Yet, we are eternally grateful that we at least have this one day to let our hair down.

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