Home > Casual Friday Theme Ideas for Work: Our Top 10

Casual Friday Theme Ideas for Work: Our Top 10

Casual Friday Theme Ideas for Work: Our Top 10

Casual Friday Theme Ideas for Work: Our Top 10

Picture the scene below. One day there was a group of executives, all laced up in their black suits neatly dotted around a large table of a windowless conference room. Members from each department of a large corporation were based at the top of this large skyscraper. They were discussing efficiency within their company.

They suggested that they should set out plans to increase employee productivity and motivation. Believing that this would generate better morale and spirit within the team. So there we have it, the idea of a casual Friday work outfit was born.

Casual Friday work outfits have become a staple of new, upcoming startups who want to attract the best young talent and gain a reputation for a stress—free work environment. It’s effective, too! With 61% of employees showing higher output on casual dress days (https://hive.com/blog/office-dress-productivity/) But like with all trends, they come, employees get bored of them and now it’s back to square one for the HR department.

So to help spice things up, we’ve put together 10 of the best casual Friday theme ideas for the office to make your next Casual Friday the best one yet. So if you’re a manager, pay close attention to these ideas to share with your employees. If you’re an employee? Well, you could share these with your HR department, or keep fantasizing… whatever’s best for you.

Casual Friday Theme Ideas for Work

1.) Hat Day

We’ll start things off with our list of casual Friday theme ideas gently with a nice simple addition: a hat day. If the idea of crazy-themed casual Fridays is relatively new to your office, then this would be a great way to ease people into it. Encourage all of your office workers to wear their favorite or funniest hat to work. This can be their baseball team’s favorite hat, their coziest winter hat, or even some kind of cultural reflection, (think of Sombreros or Ushankas for your international employees).

If you want to take things to the next level, you can always encourage them to dress their entire outfit around their hat. It may make for some crazy outfits, but if it boosts morale and the employees like it, it may be worth it.

This was our favorite from our time working in a tech office.

2.) Sports Day

Next on our list is a sports-themed day. For any kind of office or organization that works in the sports or fitness space, this is a must-do! Encourage your employees to wear something that has some reflection on their favorite sports team.

If you know your office has a strong football fan base, you could make it specific to that sport! The same applies to rugby, cricket, soccer, or any other sport! This idea works especially well during national sporting events, such as the Friday before the Super Bowl, or during the World Cup!

3.) The ‘I Need a Vacation’ Day

This is a personal favorite and one that always works well. Ask your employees to wear some kind of vacation-themed outfit or a shirt or top that comes from your favorite vacation place or the country in the world.

Believe us, there is nothing that will create a more laid-back atmosphere in your office than asking your employees to wear their favorite vacation outfits to the office. Maybe it tricks them into thinking they don’t need to stress small things out, but it certainly won’t harm that day’s productivity either.

4.) Vintage day

This one is another one of the most popular. Select a specific decade, either the ’50s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or 90’s, depending on your office’s preferences, and ask your employees to dress up as if they were heading to a party in that decade.

There are many variations of this style, too, you could ask them to dress in the decade that they were born in, (or turned 18), or their favorite decade, then ask the rest of the office to guess what decade they are dressed up as.

5.) Pajama Day

Of course, the classical option. We couldn’t have a list of the best casual Friday-themed ideas without including this option. It will no doubt cause a few laughs around the office and bring out some hilarious and also stylish PJ outfits.

Besides, if your office doesn’t have to spend much time thinking through their outfit then they may get some extra time sleeping, resulting in improved productivity. This option always proves popular with the offices and organizations it’s used on.

6.) Twin Day

Here is one of the most effective casual Friday-themed ideas in the eyes of management.: The twin day. On this day, you should encourage team members to partner up and make sure they coordinate their dress code for that day.

It’s a great way to encourage some bonding between team members and increase socialization. If your office or department has odd numbers, you can include triplets to ensure that nobody feels left out at all.

7.) College Day

This day will give employees the chance to show off their own school’s colors, school sweaters, or sports jerseys. You can even go as far as setting up a more college-like environment with “freshers” banners over the halls and red cups on the break room.

To take things to the next level, you could even host some freshers drinks after the working day is finished to encourage some bonding and socializing between team members.

8.) Special Character Day

On a special character day, you should ask your office staff to dress up as their favorite movie or television character. You can pick a theme of movies or shows depending on the nature and dynamic of your office.

Additionally, you can take turns in guessing who has dressed up as who, while offering some kind of prize for the best dressed (or most accurately dressed character.) Alternatives to this one can involve selecting a specific movie or franchise, and assigning each employee a character to dress up as – like a cowboy with a bolo tie or Star Wars.

9.) Crazy Socks Day

Perhaps your company is a little bit stricter on bending the rules when it comes to dress code and special occasions. In that case, you could try out this Crazy Socks Day idea.

Ask all of your employees to wear their favorite or craziest pair of socks, and you can even dish out some awards for the best socks. This is a great, yet extremely subtle way for you to give employees a little bit more freedom and to have something to look forward to for their casual Friday-themed outfit.

10.) Patriotic/International Day

For the patriotic-themed casual day, you could ask all of your employees to wear the color of the country in which you work. Based in the United States? Wear red white and blue. Same for the UK. Based in Ireland? Then make sure to iron your green sweater. The opportunities are endless for this one.

Alternatively, if you have a large base of international employees, you could always ask them to wear the colors of the country from which they come from. This is a great way for some of your international employees to feel more comfortable within your company and gives you a great chance to let them share more about their identity.

Bonus Idea: Hawaiian Shirt Day

This one is similar to the vacation day shirt. Asking your employees to wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt is a great way to lighten the mood. Similar to the vacation idea, it can help them to feel more at ease and comfortable, without letting productivity drop at all.

This is also a great way for employees to let their hair down a little bit and ease them with any stress they may be feeling. A bonus too is that this idea tends to work particularly well during the winter months if your office is situated in colder climates.

Parting Thoughts

In conclusion, then, a casual Friday work dress code is a great way to boost employee morale, increase productivity and even make your entire office atmosphere more enjoyable. Particularly with younger generations, such a small feature can have a huge impact upon whether o tint they decide to stay in the office.

If you need some kind of way to spice things up for your casual Friday, we hope that this article has been of use to you. But remember to keep it fun, light-hearted, without creating something else for your employees to worry about.

Most importantly of all, have fun!

And remember, stay stylish!

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