03 June 2005 - International [Japan]
Human Resources

Today is Friday. Up and down the country, thousands of workers who normally wear suits and formal outfits for work will be allowed their weekly 'dressing down' day. The aim is to signal the end of the working week and to help build morale and improve motivation amongst workers.

The idea seems to have come from the United States where workers at high tech offices in California's Silicon Valley led the way in the movement to dress more casually in the workplace. For some, the casual approach seems to work, for others casual attire at work does not reflect the pride in their appearance and the formality that sends a message out to clients. In San Francisco there are even some arguments between high tech workers and their own lawyers about the issue. "Seeing New York lawyers in suits and ties says to me they're just not on the same page with us", is a quote by Dan Scheinman, reported by Career Journal.com, who works for Cisco Systems in San Jose California. "Culturally, they don't get it", he says.

Whilst corporate America argues about the extent to which workers should adopt casual clothes at work, in Japan the very thought of turning up to work in anything other than a suit would simply not be considered. It is not even that the Japanese office worker is wearing a lightweight cotton or linen suit for the summer it seems they persist in wearing thick woollen suits.

This type of attire does not provide the most comfortable of working conditions for workers in Japan where the summer weather is humid and sticky. Instead, workers resort to cranking up the office air conditioning. This policy is using up large amounts of energy and the Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, is trying to encourage workers to change their habits in an effort to reduce energy use. He is leading the way by shedding his jacket and tie and is encouraging ministers to do the same. There are around 128 million people in Japan and the effect of reducing energy use in this way could be significant. It appears that Mr Koizumi did try to set a precedent last year but it met with little success in a country that holds traditional values dear.

Now he is making ministers take the lead in the hope that workers will follow suit - if you'll excuse the pun! It remains to be seen whether his approach will work on two fronts, one, whether workers will abandon traditional attire and two, whether the idea will reduce energy costs and help Japan meet its responsibilities under the Kyoto agreement.