I once moved to a company that still mandated relatively formal work clothes—suit and tie no longer required, but still seen fairly often.

The first casual Friday I was struck now how energized I felt as soon as I walked in (and I didn’t participate, I wore slacks and a blazer that day).

Reflecting on that, I realized that I actually associate jeans and such with “professional office that gets shit done”. Because that’s how it’d been everywhere else I’d worked.

The “professional” dress code was having exactly the opposite effect on me, from what it was supposed to.