http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/07/08/naked-friday-
Naked Friday: British Marketing Co. Works In the Buff
Filed under: Office Etiquette, Employment Trends
Posted Jul 8th 2009 10:54AM
by AOL Find a Job
Like a scene from the ‘The Office,’ the employees of British marketing company onebestway came in to work one Friday and proceeded to get NAKED.
The idea came from David Taylor, a cheeky business consultant and psychologist hired by the company to boost team spirit. "Inviting an organization to go naked is the most extreme technique I’ve used," he told The Sun. "It may seem weird, but it works. It’s the ultimate expression of trust in yourself and each other."
The move to bring in Taylor came after onebestway was forced through six rounds of layoffs. The staff underwent a week of counseling and nerve building activities leading up to the big day. Tasks included photocopying body parts, sketching nude models and discussing at length.
Finally, they were asked to strip down to their birthday suits — but only if comfortable. Amazingly most turned up in the nude. One man chose to fashion a pouch, and two female workers wore black underwear.
The only female to go fully naked was front-of-house manager Sam Jackson, 23. "It was brilliant. Now that we’ve seen each other naked, there are no barriers," she said. "We weren’t put under pressure. If we wanted to come in clothed or in our underwear, we could. But I love my body and wasn’t ashamed."
The team was filmed for a one-time TV special, Naked Office, to be aired July 9 on British cable channel Virgin 1
. But did the stunt work? According to Managing Director Mike Owen, "We have been so much closer since, professionally and personally. It’s given us that boost I wanted." He added, "I recommend anyone to do what we did. It’s not a sexual thing. If you do anything scary as a company, it encourages bonding."