How Uniforms became Schwag, and Schwag became Cool

Schwag, for those of you who are not drinking some form of Kool-aid, is basically any form of stuff emblazoned with a company's logo. You can get a great idea as to the scope of Schwag by looking around Google Store. I don't even know what sonic rocks are.

At most internet companies, Schwag is a valuable commodity. There are limited edition t-shirts printed for the launch of a certain product or event. Teams and special groups will customize their own Schwag. Message boards proliferate with requests for certain hot items; Schwag is even used as a currency for favors and focus groups. Schwag wearing is not confined merely to the office, and you very often run into people around the Valley Schwaged out.

In my life, the first appearance of Schwag came in the form of either the local Postman or the beverage delivery man. They had shirts, jackets, and even shorts emblazoned with their corporate logos. Even today, UPS uniforms are a favorite Halloween costume. The most prominent historical appearance of Schwag on television may well be that of the Maytag repairman shown above (unless you consider the Kool-Aid man one big piece of Schwag, OHHH YEAH!).

If you look at the prominent forms of Schwag from back in the day, they may be more aptly called uniforms. These uniforms were associated with working class jobs, and were more of a requirement than a highly-prized privilege. Employees probably couldn't wait to get out of uniform (imagine having to wear that Maytag hat all day).

The most prominent forms of Schwag today are generally associated with either high-tech companies on the West Coast, Google being a prominent example, or Investment Banks on the East Coast, Goldman Sachs being a prominent example. These jobs are prestigious, high-paying, and white collar. Employees wear the Schwag with a sense of pride and distinction. They purposely wear it away from the workplace.

The transformation of Schwag is representative of a larger shift in the psychology of employment. It can largely be attributed to three factors:

1) The slow decay of the work/life balance. Jobs are no longer 9-5, but more along the line of 5-9. The workplace has become a home away from home. In order to justify the longer hours and greater sociological prominence of the workplace, employers have had to re-brand themselves as a home away from home and a source of personal identity and worth.

2) Companies working harder to brand themselves not only to consumers but also to employees. Fortune's 100 Best Places to Work For is a great example, and Google is the case study. The company's brand becomes a source of competitive advantage in the hiring wars. The brand is prominently represented through Schwag.

3) The rise of the corporation's position in society. It's not only employees who want to be wearing the Schwag of the latest hot company. See Robert B. Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion to understand why people want to be associated with successful companies and teams (and distance themselves from the so called "losers").

The influence of Schwag has become such a potent force in Corporate Cultures that I propose a new way to measure employee morale. Simply go to the campus of a leading company and note how many of the employees are wearing Schwag. I have no doubt that Google would rank high on this index. I wonder where MSFT would rank? What about MicroHoo!? Better or worse than Yahoo's current ranking? Any MBA professors out there interested in actually doing the study, feel free. Regardless, I'll be wearing my Plasma Shell Jacket tomorrow. Just because I don't work there anymore, doesn't mean I can't, does it?

[For those of you who were wondering, the word Schwag was mentioned in this post 15 times.]