Naked working

I may have taken Working Naked Day a bit far this year...

There's no need to bore you with another explanation about how the notion of Working Naked Day is more about promoting the benefits of working from home and being aware of how so many offices have been left devoid of occupants due to brutal amounts of lay-offs. 

Instead, I'll just share with you how I decided to bring more awareness to the day by literally being naked while getting some work done today. The twist being that I grabbed my laptop and headed to a local coffee shop, the lovely Cafe Fika.

You don't need to point out to me how working in a public place kind of defeats the point of promoting a day about working from home, but you know what.... fuck it!

That said, Cafe Fika was rather empty today so you could say that it is thematically appropriate because the secondary point of the day does relate to offices being so empty that you might as well be naked because there are so few people still around that you aren't actually going to get caught in the buff.

In my case, I was only sharing the space with a solitary staff member who must have been so confused about what she was seeing and one other remote worker, who, not very surprisingly decided to pick the seat immediately next to me and probably didn't get much work done with the amount of side eye he was giving me. 

I, on the other had, was super productive with my time spent there. The feeling of being free and liberated allowed me to focus all of my energies on get what I need to do done.

In hindsight, maybe sitting at a desk by the window was maybe a bit too bold though. Whilst there were only those couple people in my actual presence, it maybe didn't occur to me that everyone who was walking or driving down the street outside would also have caught a glimpse of my bare bod in all its glory. 

Honestly, maybe this wasn't the best way to celebrate Working Naked Day. But hey; at least no-one called the cops on me for exposing myself!

Working Naked Day 2023

It's the first Friday in February, which can only mean one thing! That's right. it's Working Naked Day!

I explained all about the origins of the day and why it may not be quite as sexy as it sounds a few years ago. But if you need a quick refresher, it essentially boils down to promoting the benefits of being able to work from home.

I mean, there is a bit more to it than that, such as a worker being so alone in the office due to her colleagues being made redundant that she realised she could be completely naked and no one else would even be there to notice. And then it became a whole thing from there.

Of course, I am not here to tell you that you shouldn't also take it as an opportunity to strip of for work today. Far from it! I'm very much going to promote it!

Just a little disclaimer though... If you are going to get your kit off while working today, just make sure you are in a suitable environment where law enforcement or company disciplinary procedures don't have to get involved in any way. By which I mean, probably best to only do it if you are working from home.

Oh, and definitely don't forget to cover up if you need to go on any web calls. It could be pretty embarrassing if you dial in and forget that you've got it all on display for everyone else to see!

Working Naked Day

OK, OK, OK, please don't get too excited about this one! Despite what the name might suggest, Working Naked Day does not celebrate the joys of being naked. It is actually just a day to promote working from home.

Of course, the last few years has seen a massive shift towards home working but, prior to that, for many of us, it was simply something that was not even on our radar. In fact, anecdotally, some home workers would tell stories of being afraid to tell others that they worked from home for fear of not being taken seriously.

Don't worry, if you are asking yourself how a day about working from home got such a name, you are probably not alone...

The phrase 'working naked' was coined in the late 90s by a woman who found all of her colleagues getting laid off until she was the only person left working on the her floor in her office. She became so acutely aware of how alone she was, that she would say that she may as well be working naked and no one would even know!

So really, what the day celebrates the freedoms and flexibility that working from home affords those fortunate enough to be able to do it. The elimination of a daily commute, something that can be extremely stressful, is one of the benefits. As is not having to worry about sorting out a lunch to take with you. And who doesn't prefer not having to get dressed up each and every day?

With all that being said, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't choose to celebrate Working Naked Day by actually being naked while you work. I just recommend that you only do that if you are genuinely working from home. Otherwise, you may find yourself receiving a visit from local law enforcement and being escorted from the premises.