Naked Fridays: Taking Casual All the Way

In Newcastle upon Tyne, England, a company called onebestway is stretching the limits of the proverb that necessity is the mother of invention. With the company’s business tanking in these terrible economic times, the boss had an idea. Everyone should come to work naked on Fridays.

It’s working. It took some getting used to, but the employees like it. Business isn’t booming, but it’s better. By appreciating one’s own body and the bodies of coworkers, teamwork has taken on new meaning.

I’m not as up to speed on the law in the United Kingdom as I should be. Maybe what these people are doing isn’t only a short-lived morale booster. Maybe it’s also legal.

In the U.S., however, don’t do this. Don’t suggest it. Don’t ask your employees if they’d be interested in it. Don’t bother getting legal advice. Rely on a lesser known American labor and employment law proverb that there is a fine line between having fun at work and a hostile environment.

Institute “Naked Fridays,” and you’ll be sued — maybe not after the first Friday — but soon enough. Of course, if your business is about to go under, maybe you want to just roll the dice as you roll into oblivion.