Friday, February 24, 2012

Why Most Local Governments Don’t Have Casual Dress on Fridays

Below is an actual scenario that could have happened in any local government unit.


Memo No. 1 - Week 1.  The  County Board is pleased to announce that it has approved a Casual Dress Day program. Beginning this Friday, all County employees may wear casual attire to work on Fridays.

Memo No. 2 - Week 2.  Because we serve the public, the County Board would like to share some additional guidance regarding our newly established Casual Dress Day program. Many Board members believe athletic T-shirts, sweatpants, spandex shorts, leather micro-miniskirts, and moccasins are inappropriate attire for employees to wear to work on Fridays.

Memo No. 3 - Week 3. The County Board would like to remind everyone that the term "Casual Fridays" refers only to employee dress, not employee work attitudes.

Memo No. 4 - Week 4.  A seminar has been scheduled for all County employees on Wednesday.  This seminar, entitled: How to Dress for Casual Dress Days will be held in the County Board room and be conducted at two different times to accommodate all employees' work schedules.  The first seminar will be at 9 a.m. and the second at 3 p.m.    Attendance at this seminar is mandatory for all employees.

Memo No. 5 - Week 5.  Based on the feedback received from last week's seminars, the County Board has authorized the creation of a 14-member Casual Day Task Force {CDTF} committee to solicit employee suggestions and publish written guidelines for proper dress standards for County Casual Fridays.

Memo No. 6 - Week 7. The Casual Day Task Force committee has completed an easy-to-read, 34-page manual entitled "Relaxing Dress Without Relaxing Standards." This manual is now at the printers and should be distributed next week.  If you do not receive your personal copy by next Thursday, contact your unit's CDTF representative.  Upon receipt of your manual, make a point to read Chapter 9, "You Are What You Wear," and also refer to the appendix 5 titled: "Home Casual versus Business Casual" before leaving for work on Friday.

Memo No. 7 - Week 10. The County Board would like to inform all employees that arrangements have been made with our Employee Assistant Plan (EAP) provided to expand this service to provide 24-hour telephone counseling for any employee having difficulty adjusting to our new County Casual Friday Dress program.

Memo No. 8 - Week 12.  Due to recent unforeseen budget constraints, the County Board regrets to inform all County employees that it is no longer able to financially support a Casual Dress Friday program.  Effective immediately, the County Casual Dress Friday program is hereby terminated.

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