Working Naked Day - 1st Friday in February
Working Naked Day is traditionally held on the first Friday of every February. The intention behind it is not to show up naked at the office as such, but to promote the freedom and flexibility that goes along with working from home; to focus on the benefits of a better work-life balance; and to promote greater work independence and flexibility.
Origin:
WND was first started in the US by Lisa Kanarek in 2001. At the time working from home was less common than it is today, and she wanted to highlight the benefits of allowing a "work from home" culture, such as employees even able to work nude if they wanted to. She has authored seven books on the subject, including “Working Naked: A Guide to the Bare Essentials of Home Office Life”.
Since the COVID pandemic started in 2020, this has forced many organisations to adopt a "working from home" culture. And in the post-pandemic world, most organisations have maintained their flexible working from home culture, as they have realised the many benefits to the organisation and to employees when the flexibility to work from home is maintained.
2023 Working Naked Day Competition
In 2023 the NZNF along with "Go Naked NZ" (gonakednz.bsky.social) ran a photo competition for "Working Naked Day". Several dozen photo submissions were received from around the world, a list of finalists were picked which was then put to the public vote. Below are the winners and some of the finalists. As the competition was run via social media (Facebook and Instagram) photos were censored. Unfortunately a follow-up competition in 2024 had to be cancelled due to tightening social media restrictions.
Receiving nearly half of the total public vote, Francine was the clear winner of the photo competition.
Runner-up Mark.
Anna below worked as an acrobat and dancing instructor and won 3rd place with her submission.
NZNF President at the time David Saunders also took part in the competition.
Geoff is a certified Forest Therapy Guide, offering guided forest walks and forest bathing experiences. Forest bathing is the westernised approach to the traditional Japanese practice of shinrin yoku, which is about slowing down and providing nature immersion to improve overall health and well-being.
Ralf from Germany works in IT.
Jon from Belize works as a farmer.
Seda is a groundskeeper.
What are the benefits of working from home?
Research has shown that organisations that maintain a flexible working from home culture has experienced not only greater employee satisfaction but also higher productivity. It also enables organisations to recruit competitively - as working from home is a benefit that many skilled professionals now see as a standard benefit. Additionally, organisations can hire employees that work remotely in different regions and thus have access to a wider pool of talent. Businesses can use smaller office spaces, with employees rotating with days coming into the office - leading to massive cost savings, considering the ever-increasing rental costs of office space in business zones. Employees maintain a better work life balance without the extra added hours spent commuting.
It has benefits to the community too: Children spend less time at day cares and more with whanau (family, extended). People spend more time and money in their local community, as opposed to spending being focused in industrial/work centers. It means fewer people in CBDs - leading to less crowded, less congested inner cities, making our cities more livable.
These are environmental benefits: less commuting means a lower carbon footprint.
Of course, for some industries working from home is simply not possible - but for most, affording some working from home options to employees is not only possible, but is now often considered a superior working model.
Why Working Naked Day is Important
When we consider all the benefits of working from home, it's clear that some awareness needs to be created around then benefits thereof, this is where "Working Naked Day" comes in. It acts as a promotional tool to highlight the benefits that exist to organisations, employees, the community and the environment when considering working from home options.
After 3 years of the COVID pandemic, it has proved that working from home is not only entirely possible, but indeed superior to the old model of requiring employees into work five days a week. But some organisations are falling back into old habits, abolishing working from home benefits - despite the numerous gains seen when it's allowed. Therefore, Working Naked Day continues to be relevant - to drive awareness of the benefits of flexible working environments.
This article was written by Dion de Wet
Last updated: 28 Aug 2026