What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[HeyMoe]

I can think of one:

Looks like a wedding photo from my first marriage

 

[bbshriver]

I'll add another, more a concept than an invention.

"Casual Friday" : The only logical reason for some sort of dress code (whatever it may be) at work is that it somehow improves your function at a job. It is deemed by the powers that be that wearing a suit and tie, or khakis and polo or whatever is important enough to make that a dress code. So by casual Friday you are saying either that it's OK to not take work seriously on Friday, OR there's no reason at all we make you dress up the other 4 days of the week. Either way you are sending mixed signals.

A related idea is "Business Casual" which is thoroughly ambiguous. I've seen it mean anything from jeans and a conservative t-shirt to a "suit but you don't have to wear a tie" approach. Just generally confusion. Furthermore I'd rather enjoy the whole suit and tie thing, but even the top dogs in my office at most do the tie-less suit, and pretty much anyone with something less than a "Vice President" title are in the khaki and polo category.

 

[jamespowers]

Looks like a wedding photo from my first marriage

:rofl:

 

[LizzieMaine]

The only time I care what people I do business with are wearing is when I go to the bank. If I'm handing over my hard-earned, I want to hand it to somebody who doesn't look like they're dressed for a barbecue. And polo shirts with a logo embroidered on the front don't cut it -- when I see that I'm tempted to ask for an order of fries with my deposit slip.

On the other hand, I was once greeted at a law office by a partner in the firm, who shuffled out front wearing a bathrobe, and let out a fearsome sneeze in response to my greeting. (But he's a hell of a good lawyer.)

 

[Stearmen]

This guy did pretty good with casual...........well, any day ending in a Y!

 

[Zombie_61]

...The only logical reason for some sort of dress code (whatever it may be) at work is that it somehow improves your function at a job...

Over the years I've dealt with some rather well-dressed people who were largely ineffective at whatever job they'd been hired for. Except for specialized work gear, dress codes in the workplace have little to do with functionality--it's all about the image the company wants to project for it's customers and potential customers. And even companies that have instituted some form of "casual" Friday will usually still enforce a different dress code for those days--Hawaiian shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes are acceptable, but show up in a stained tee shirt, cargo shorts, and beach sandals, and they'll send you home.

That said, I've occasionally wondered about companies that employ some form of "Casual Friday" policy, specifically with regards to their motivation. Does it really help the overall morale of the employees to allow them to wear semi-casual clothing one day out of the work week? Does it present a "better" image for their customers? "See? We have Casual Fridays; we're not always hard-nosed taskmasters." I've had jobs that required me to wear actual uniforms, but otherwise have never had a job that required anything "dressier" than a tee shirt and jeans, so I'm sincerely curious.

 

[Stearmen]

Here are some future billionaires. So I guise it's not the suit that makes the man! When I think about it, most of the times I have been ripped off in my life, it was some guy in a suit.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Those online click-bait news stories with headlines reading "So-and-so said or did WHAT???" Must everything in the modern era be written to the level of a hyperventilating twelve-year-old girl?

 

[Retro Spectator]

Why must almost every magazine in the checkout shelves at the supermarket feature scantily clad or half naked women on them?

 

[bbshriver]

Over the years I've dealt with some rather well-dressed people who were largely ineffective at whatever job they'd been hired for. Except for specialized work gear, dress codes in the workplace have little to do with functionality--it's all about the image the company wants to project for it's customers and potential customers. And even companies that have instituted some form of "casual" Friday will usually still enforce a different dress code for those days--Hawaiian shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes are acceptable, but show up in a stained tee shirt, cargo shorts, and beach sandals, and they'll send you home.

That said, I've occasionally wondered about companies that employ some form of "Casual Friday" policy, specifically with regards to their motivation. Does it really help the overall morale of the employees to allow them to wear semi-casual clothing one day out of the work week? Does it present a "better" image for their customers? "See? We have Casual Fridays; we're not always hard-nosed taskmasters." I've had jobs that required me to wear actual uniforms, but otherwise have never had a job that required anything "dressier" than a tee shirt and jeans, so I'm sincerely curious.

You actually caught onto my point here where I think others missed it. For a company to have a specific dress code you assume that whoever made up the dress code had some reason they made the rules the way they did. Whether you think it is for more productivity, better projection to customers, whatever. But then to have casual Friday means that you decided the reasoning that led to the dress code doesn't apply on Friday.

Example : in my office when I moved to this location it was typcial business casual with casual friday. Basically Friday you were allowed to wear jeans, which wasn't allowed the rest of the time. This is for people who don't deal with outside customers, just the internal office staff. Then they changed the dress code to allow jeans 5 days a week... that lasted a year then jeans were no longer allowed 4 days a week. It's unclear why they switched twice. It upset a lot of people who apparently gave all their "business casual" pants to goodwill and stocked up on jeans.

I used to work with someone who wore a tie everyday and always bemoaned that it wasn't required anymore, as he'd noticed a dramatic decline in overall professional behavior (and work ethic) among his co-workers when they removed the requirement for engineers to wear ties. That was well before my time, so I can't comment, but always thought it was interesting.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Here are some future billionaires. So I guise it's not the suit that makes the man! When I think about it, most of the times I have been ripped off in my life, it was some guy in a suit.

I've never bought the argument "well, Bill Gates is a slob and he's a billionaire, so that means I should be a slob too". Something about causality, or lack thereof.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Example : in my office when I moved to this location it was typcial business casual with casual friday.

This is an oxymoron. A remnant of the fact that too many out there think that khakis and a polo shirt or jeans and bowling shoes are "business casual". Apparently many guys now think just remembering to put pants on qualifies as "business casual".

I used to work with someone who wore a tie everyday and always bemoaned that it wasn't required anymore, as he'd noticed a dramatic decline in overall professional behavior (and work ethic) among his co-workers when they removed the requirement for engineers to wear ties. That was well before my time, so I can't comment, but always thought it was interesting.

This observation is spot on. You used to be expected to behave differently in a professional office than you did hanging out in the backyard drinking beer with your buddies. That line is almost completely gone now, and it's direct result of people losing the sense of "this is a place of business".

 

[HeyMoe]

I used to work with someone who wore a tie everyday and always bemoaned that it wasn't required anymore, as he'd noticed a dramatic decline in overall professional behavior (and work ethic) among his co-workers when they removed the requirement for engineers to wear ties. That was well before my time, so I can't comment, but always thought it was interesting.

I wear a tie almost every day to work - and the only person at my place of business to do so. The only times I do not is if I am planning on conducting a training in physical restraint (I work in mental health) - those days I slum it and wear either a polo or a short sleeved button down shirt. The rest of the time, long sleeves, starches, ironed, tie, slacks also starched and ironed and spit-shined shoes.

 

[jamespowers]

This is an oxymoron. A remnant of the fact that too many out there think that khakis and a polo shirt or jeans and bowling shoes are "business casual". Apparently many guys now think just remembering to put pants on qualifies as "business casual".



This observation is spot on. You used to be expected to behave differently in a professional office than you did hanging out in the backyard drinking beer with your buddies. That line is almost completely gone now, and it's direct result of people losing the sense of "this is a place of business".

Exactly! It sets the tone of the business and environment.

 

[Dragon Soldier]

Not sure about the States, but in NI (and I assume the rest of the UK) "business casual" is by far the most expensive and frankly difficult to maintain.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Exactly! It sets the tone of the business and environment.

Not to mention that objective studies have clearly shown that in offices with "business casual", employees are absent more often, tardy more often, have more disputes with coworkers, spend more time goofing off, and are decidely less productive than in offices with traditional business attire.

 

[jamespowers]

Not to mention that objective studies have clearly shown that in offices with "business casual", employees are absent more often, tardy more often, have more disputes with coworkers, spend more time goofing off, and are decidely less productive than in offices with traditional business attire.

I could have told them that without all that wasted study money. All you have to do is be part of a few different business environments and you know the difference ASAP.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I could have told them that without all that wasted study money. All you have to do is be part of a few different business environments and you know the difference ASAP.

Well, anectdotal evidence says just the opposite. Just ask anyone who perfers casual and they'll tell you that they're more creative and productive when dressed down. But the facts say otherwise.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Most of the writers I know say they feel most creative in pajamas and a bathrobe. I knew one gal who swore the only time she could ever actually produce anything was when she was naked in the bathtub.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Most of the writers I know say they feel most creative in pajamas and a bathrobe. I knew one gal who swore the only time she could ever actually produce anything was when she was naked in the bathtub.

Most people in general say this. Like most children say broccoli and carrots make them gag and they can only stomach ice cream and chocolate cake.