With everyone stuck indoors self-quarantining, many are waking up to a brand new world of possibilities for what their life can be. While many people are learning to take time for themselves, others are finding time to pursue hobbies that they’d never been able to tackle or catch up on some long-overdue reading or their Netflix watchlist.
All that said, some societal norms can’t be completely thrown out the window, at least if you’re still attending video conferences as part of your day job. Even so, many may find themselves asking the question, “Is it OK to wear PJs all day?” Here are a few different ways to think about that question.
The Case for Wearing Pajamas All Day
Let’s get it out of the way first and foremost: comfort matters. If you feel comfortable in your outfit, you’re more likely to feel like yourself. You’re also likely to be more relaxed. While it’s true that psychologically you may associate pajamas with bedtime and thus be prone to lethargy when you’re wearing them, that same feeling of relaxation could have major benefits.
For example, if being cooped up inside because of COVID-19 is causing you extra anxiety or feelings of depression, staying cozy in your pajamas could help improve your mental state. Many people wear athletic wear and other lounge clothes like sweatpants or leggings out in public, so why should pajamas be any less out of the norm?
It’s important to feel happy, and if pajamas give you that joy, it’s a good idea to keep wearing them. Best of all, you won’t need to change into them again when it’s time to go to sleep!
Reasons to Change into Real Clothes
If you’re still working from home, most experts would advise that you change into a different outfit rather than wear pajamas. Fortune magazine, for example, wrote an entire article about why you aren’t actually productive if you’re working from home in your PJs. At its heart, their argument maintains that if you work on a couch or don’t change into proper work clothing, you haven’t made the commitment to be productive and do your work.
Productivity relies on routine, and part of that routine involves changing out of your pajamas, grabbing breakfast or coffee, showering, and going to the gym or whatever else you do in the morning before heading to work. Again, the clothing you wear has a lot to do with how you feel, and productivity is one effect of changing into the same collared shirt and slacks you’d be wearing if you were heading into the office.
It’s also worth noting that staying in pajamas even during teleconferences could be seen as rude or disrespectful. At the very least, if it looks like you’re not keeping up with the seriousness of your work, that might be what your coworkers think of you, even if you know that you’ve been working eight hours a day.
Ultimately, deciding whether or not you want to wear pajamas all-day comes down to your own sense of style and personal preferences. While some people want to rock their comfies each and every day, others may struggle to remain productive if they haven’t changed into their normal work outfit. It’s important that you get in a groove and try your best to maintain your routine when so much else about the world is in flux right now, and part of that includes what you wear.
While some people may be happy they get to save on laundry by only wearing pajama bottoms each day, others may welcome the relief from something as routine as moving wet clothes from a washing machine into a dryer.
