(1)Some workplaces have instituted a casual day, often Fridays, when the official or unofficial dress code is relaxed or abandoned. (2)A relaxed or abandoned dress code is not necessarily a blessing. (3)Even though the standards of attire are supposedly lowered, what you wear will still be scrutinized. (4)Now, instead of business wear and casual, you may need attire that falls in between these two—something that is now being called “business casual.” (5)Also, although the dress restrictions have been eased, this is often done only for those with no client contact. (6)This means that people must check the calendar (to see if it is a casual day) and their schedules (to see if they have outside appointments) before getting dressed in the morning. (7)Although this is a concern, casual dress also has some problems. (8)For many companies, a large problem is that workers have taken the casual concept too far. (9)Workers have come to work in sweatsuits, shorts, and spandex. (10)Another drawback to casual dress, some say, is that it also leads to casual attitudes. (11)One firm found its sales staff felt that casual day was a “no sales call” day; instead of getting one relaxed dress day, the firm got one less work day. (12)The policy was soon reversed. *
