San Francisco City Guide - Business Etiquette

Visiting businesspeople will enjoy the informal attire worn by new media workers. However, it would be a mistake to think that this reflects a lackadaisical attitude to work. Workers often start late, eat lunch at their desks and work late into the evening. In the Financial District, dress is more formal and working hours are usually 0900-1700. San Francisco is an informal city and business meetings, especially in the new media industry, may include a casual breakfast or lunch with casual attire to match. Business done by bankers and lawyers, however, will be more formal in terms of dress, with ties and jackets worn, even if these are slowly loosened or discarded. ‘Power’ breakfasts, catered lunches and coffee meetings are common, while dinners at private homes are more rare. Fashionable restaurants or wine bars are the more likely settings for financial types. When making a private visit, gifts of wine, sweets from home or flowers are a good bet. Visiting businesspersons should note that equal opportunity in race, creed, gender and sexual orientation is standard practise in San Francisco.

The new media industry, once filled with young and competitive employees who traded jobs every two years, is undergoing a change of heart, due to sheer necessity. The slim number of workers that remain seem grateful for any job at all.