Casual or semi-casual: what constitutes business casual in your workplace
photo by wonderferret
If your job calls for business casual, what does this really mean? Believe it or not, this is the one question that has plagued working men for a long time. In fact, this very wondering has caused issues in the workplace. It could be the possibility of not using a tie, wearing a golf shirt or using menswear on that casual day. Casual Friday can vary greatly from workplace to workplace.
What does casual mean?
When you work in an office, you should know what it means by casual there. The quickest way to determine your workplace’s definition of business casual is by speaking to your colleagues but to put to rest your fears, maybe just talk to your manager. Co-workers may accidentally give you the wrong information; it’s not because they want you to fail, it’s because they may not fully understand the dress code/casual policy themselves.
What does semi-casual mean?
Businesses which have a very formal culture may have a casual day that only means not wearing a tie; thus, you’ll need to still wear a business shirt, dress shoes and jacket… no tie whatsoever. For some people, it would come across as why bother having the day?
What does very casual mean?
When an office goes truly casual, it tends to mean that employees can wear jeans… seen as very casual. These kinds of settings may even allow for t-shirts and sneakers rather than business shirts and suits. T-shirts and sneakers are generally seen with more artsy or creative businesses.
Go between very casual and semi-casual
There are many businesses that could be defined as having a ‘between casual’ stage. Usually casual days mean wearing a polo shirts, and semi-casual footwear such as sneakers rather than wearing a business shirt, formal slacks and dress shoes. This kind of wear is much more casual than the usually seen and worn jacket and tie; however, it’s not Saturday wearing of jeans, t-shirts and thongs (flip flops for international readers).
Whatever the case may be, you should find out what kind of casual your workplace has before you make the mistake of going too casual or not casual enough. Of course, going business casual is a great way to ease in to the weekend, as tempting as it is, just be conscious that it’s not the weekend quite yet!
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