The absolute disgust of having to wear a tie everyday (okay, except Fridays and working Saturdays – Thank God for small mercies) to office during the last two months has made the rebel inside me wake up and give this serious issue some even more serious thought.
So this is how it works – you wrap a long piece of cloth around your neck, making loops and knots and finally push one end down and the knot up so that it is looks the way it should look.
In the evening you remove the damn thing off.
And in between, the thing hangs down your neck.
This is the thing which makes you look formal – the thing which symbolises that you really mean business – that you are very serious about your work and not taking it casually.
Well, I am somehow not too convinced. If that indeed is the case – then why is a tie not a part of the formal dress code for women. Do they not need to look like they mean business? (Disclaimer: I hope it is understood that this is a rhetoric question – I am not to be blamed if some highly proactive organization introduces ties as a formal dress code for women)
So, I put on my thinking cap and tried to imagine the various ways in which the useless looking piece of fabric can be put to some use for the good of this world. So here goes the list.
· For wiping sweat off your face – the positioning of a tie is really strategic (oh, physical positioning that is – just in case you thought I am taking this opportunity to give some marketing gyan). I mean how cumbersome it is to get your hand inside your pockets, take out your handkerchief, do the needful, and put it back in the pocket. The tie saves a lot of time and serves the same purpose.
o Counter-argument – Offices are usually Air Conditioned. So no sweat!
· For ensuring a clean nose when suffering from cold – this point actually stems from the counterargument mentioned above. Sometimes “hot and cold areas in the same office” (no, this blog is not sponsored by Blue Star) can lead to a running nose. The convenience of using a tie in this case is similar to that mentioned earlier.
o Counter-argument – A tie can prove to be inadequate if the severity of the running nose is very high – the much larger surface area of the handkerchief scores over the long but thin tie.
· For wiping off tears when you get bashed by your boss – this particular use just fits so well in the “formal” office scenario.
o Counter-argument – similar to one mentioned for running-nose. A tie may just not be adequate enough.
· To be used as a leash by your boss – this again fits well in the office scenario.
o Counter-argument - Why should the biggest boss in the office wear a tie? Agreed he would be meeting clients/ partners etc who would want to have a leash around him, but that does not happen every day.
The strong counter arguments for each possible use that I could think of lead me to believe that we are just following some silly norm which does not make even a little bit of sense. It is high time we un-tie ourselves from the unnecessary knots we have got ourselves into !
