When I call Tony Hardy, it's a sunny day. As he often does during the summer months, he's wearing a pair of shorts in the office.
"We wear shorts all the time," he says.
Tony runs a branding agency in Northumberland, with nine employees. His company, Canny Creative, doesn't have a dress code. Instead he encourages staff to dress professionally but comfortably - especially because the air conditioning in their office has recently broken.
"Imagine sweating buckets all day and being really uncomfortable and then expecting them to also turn out great work," Tony says.
With summer upon us, and much of Britain set to be basking in a heatwave this week and next, keeping cool in the office and during the commute can be a challenge. Take one look at TikTok, and you'll see that the topic of whether or not shorts are ever appropriate for the office remains highly contentious.
