The company I used to work for in the States had a Business Casual dress code. Skirts had to be at the knee or below, no shorts, not tank tops or spaghetti straps, no T-shirts selling a favorite brand of beer or bearing offensive images or words. And no flip-slops.
But, of course back in the day, flip-flops were more often than not called thongs. I remember one day my boss walked into my office after interviewing a younger candidate who’d taken exception to the policy. Well, not exactly exception, she’d just wanted to know how the boss – a man – would monitor what kind of underwear she was wearing! I can still see his face!
At that same company we had what was called Casual Friday. Every Friday all employees were allowed to wear jeans, (appropriate) T-shirts and even baseball caps, as well as other “prohibited” items. The company used it as a fund raiser, requiring us to donate a dollar a week to a chosen local charity for the privilege of dressing down. It was a great idea, and, although I don’t really mind getting dressed up for work, I remember really looking forward to Casual Friday each week.
I was thinking about Casual Friday the other day here at work in Saudi where the dress code is…well…a little different. More cultural than casual. Most local guys wear thobes and ghuptras and sandals to work. When they do dress “Western”, more often than not they wear jeans and polo shirts. Sometimes they slip on sneakers or actual dress shoes – the latter more often on older guys, but most seem pretty attached to their Saudi sandals.
So what would “Casual Friday” look like here?
Anyway, it’s interesting to consider and another way of seeing the cultural differences that arise in the global marketplace.
At that same company we had what was called Casual Friday. Every Friday all employees were allowed to wear jeans, (appropriate) T-shirts and even baseball caps, as well as other “prohibited” items. The company used it as a fund raiser, requiring us to donate a dollar a week to a chosen local charity for the privilege of dressing down. It was a great idea, and, although I don’t really mind getting dressed up for work, I remember really looking forward to Casual Friday each week.
I was thinking about Casual Friday the other day here at work in Saudi where the dress code is…well…a little different. More cultural than casual. Most local guys wear thobes and ghuptras and sandals to work. When they do dress “Western”, more often than not they wear jeans and polo shirts. Sometimes they slip on sneakers or actual dress shoes – the latter more often on older guys, but most seem pretty attached to their Saudi sandals.
And the women, well the local working women wear their abayas and hijabs, with a large number of them also donning the niqab. Their footwear, btw, tends toward high heels.
So what would “Casual Friday” look like here?
Mmm Well first off, our work week is Saturday-Wednesday, so it would be “Casual Wednesday”.
And seriously, how much more casual could anyone be? I suppose the guys could come in shorts, but I’m going to say their traditional garb is a lot more comfy than most shorts anyone, so what would be the benefit? And I doubt they’d see a lot of incentive to trade their ghuptras for baseball caps.
The women, on the other hand, could theoretically shed their abayas, hijabs and niquabs, but I doubt that’s going to happen. Or they could wear shorts under their abayas, I suppose, tho who’s to say what they’re wearing under them on normal days!
Anyway, it’s interesting to consider and another way of seeing the cultural differences that arise in the global marketplace.
How do you feel about Casual Fridays and other such arrangements? Do they provide incentives or benefits or are they just silly? How do you feel about dress codes overall?
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