Do you, or don’t you drop your ‘dacks’ at work? 

May 2017 

Do you, or don’t you drop your ‘dacks’ at work?  Well that would depend entirely where your work place is.  Is it the office or is it the mine site.  

An Appin coal miner recently had his employment terminated when he instigated a protest over the company's delay in delivering a promised laundry and clothing service. The service was meant to be provided under the terms of the Enterprise Agreement which covered the employment.  

Unhappy with the delay, and particularly so given the need for specific clothing underground, the employee organised a ten minute protest where he and the other coal miners turned up to start their shift sans pants. 

Appropriate clothing is critical in the context of safety for coal miners and the company took a dim view of the protest, particularly after photos of the group made their way to the press/a few internet blogs. 

But what if your workplace just happens to be the office where safety is not an issue? 

The president of Belarus has accidentally sparked an international naked working craze after urging citizens to “get undressed and work till you sweat.”   

Alexander Lukashenko made the bold suggestion when talking about the importance of technology to the national economy. 

But, unfortunately for the president, citizens took his words at their literal value and have started posting pictures of themselves naked at work. 

Hundreds of Belarusians have posted pictures on social media and the craze has even spread into Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic states. 

In the UK, David Taylor, a business psychologist, told workers at design and marketing company in Newcastle upon Tyne, that a Naked Friday idea would boost their team spirit. 

He was called in to help the firm after six staff members were forced into taking redundancies at the start of the credit crunch. 

Despite some initial reluctance, nearly all the staff took off all their clothes – except for one man, who wore a posing pouch, and one of two female workers, who kept on black underwear. 

The one female employee said "It was brilliant. Now that we've seen each other naked, there are no barriers” 

Internationally a ‘work naked day’ Created by author and home office expert, Lisa Kanare.  The holiday is not about working without clothes (though you certainly can, if you would like to), but is about working from the comfortable confines of your home and is celebrated on February 1^st.  In Australia this date should pose no problems (pun intended) but in the northern hemisphere I would imagine that frost-bite could be an issue.