The Dress Code, Volume II
Circa 1994, what to wear to work was easy, and there were clear guidelines. Suit and tie for gents, dress, blouse, maybe a jacket for the ladies. Some Avant-Garde ladies would wear tailored pants - gasp! When I started my first big boy job, the uniform was a Corbin suit from Georgetown University Shop, white Brooks Brothers button-down, and a rep tie of sort, with Weejuns (oh, I miss those). I donned this uniform and headed to the office. In 30 years, not much changed; eventually, I was able to upgrade, but still a suit and tie. Sometime around 1999, our boss declared casual Fridays in the summer. I was appalled. I marched into his office and let him know it was a horrible idea and would lead to the downfall of the American work ethic and workplace. He was stunned. I was the youngest by at least ten years and by far the stodgiest. This was also the era of the dot.com boom, and the geeks did not wear suits. The revolution was underway.
Today I blissfully wear to the office whatever the heck I want and have not put on a suit for anything other than a funeral or fancy dinner in three years. Most days, it is gym clothes, athleisure, and sometimes tailored pants and a proper shirt if I have a meeting or business lunch.
The point is, once upon a time, the office dictated what we wore, and it was a uniform of some sort. Because the office was uniform. Office space theory stems from Henry Ford’s factory and mass production concept. Office space became human self-storage. In 2015 I had a moment of clarity - office space is by and large crap. It is a product primarily conceived and produced by the seller, not the customer. Space gets modified to meet a particular user’s style and needs, but that is cosmetic.
Fortunately, technology, industries, work habits, and work styles are evolving, crowning the customer king, and turning the relationship on its head. We were in the process of transforming how we conduct business, attract talent, and customize space to new human behavior before the pandemic. The idea that there is a better way to work has been solidified in most people’s minds thanks to the global work from home, work from anywhere experiment we have been subjected to.
In 2015 we set out to create a workspace that inspired people to be at their natural best. Workspace with an emphasis on the health and wellness of the occupant and a better, more flexible way for businesses to acquire workspace. 1010 Loft at 1010 North Fairfax was the result. It is a small building but packed with wellness elements, a roof terrace (get outside!), loaner bikes, a shower, lots of natural light, and bright, cheery stairwells to encourage using the stairs. And we adopted a flexible “membership” model versus a liability-intensive long-term lease. Companies can attract, retain, and motivate talent while freeing up liability on the balance sheet. Making them nimbler and more competitive.
In 2019 we got the chance to acquire another unique property at 215 North. Payne Street. A former light industrial use with a large parking lot looked like the perfect place to take what we did at 1010 Loft and push the health and wellness theme to another level. Our concept was to house workspace, gym, and café all under one roof. The project came together, and we launched…. March of 2020 - ugh. The pandemic shut us down for 60 days. We figured out how to safely allow people to get out of their small Old Town houses and access reliable high-speed internet with no distractions. One of the design elements was a flexible, complex HVAC system. This served us well then and now. Our system allows much higher fresh air exchange, and each discrete space has its own air handler, which reduces the spread of air molecules between spaces. 215 North. Payne features great workspaces, communal, private offices, meeting rooms, an outdoor plaza and seating area, a work cabana, indoor and outdoor gym, sauna, and cold plunge. We had to put off the café due to the pandemic, but we did not give up on having fresh fuel on site.
After multiple sessions with the creative crew, The Loop Coworking concept was solidified. The Loop was a riff off the positive feedback loop concept. Work-life balance is a myth - we believe in harmony. A good routine (or Loop) that includes work (business and personal), exercise*, and refueling with high-quality food leads to better harmony with the rhythm of life.
Dress Code? What is the new business attire, the new work uniform, the Loop uniform? Whatever inspires you to be at your natural best. (Within reason, we are not a nudist colony, I still have some stodgy in me.)
*Read anything and everything by Adrien Cotton for more on exercise (also known as wellness.) Wellness is much more than a single workout session. Wellness is a comprehensive concept that should include mental and physical health, good sleep, good nutrition, good relationships, and accountability.
