What’s the point of neck ties?

I’ve always hated inefficiency.  Among the many things that I have, at one time or another, wanted to eliminate included:

• Words that do not convey information (e.g. Please)
• Bed making (Clean sheets are important, but not specially arranging them when they’ll just be messed up again in a few hours)
• Clothes folding (especially underwear & socks)
• Neck ties
• Combed hair

There was a fashion called “bed head” years ago that I had hoped would catch on.  What’s the point of neat hair any way?  The problem was that socially acceptable “bed head” actually required a lot of time put into it.

My workplace virtually requires neck ties for men.  Won’t they ever change that pointless, unwritten policy?

Probably my wish to eliminate these pointless things will never be granted.  Why?  What psychological or anthropological principles underlie these apparently pointless social conventions?

I believe the answer lies in communication.  The neck tie is a way of communicating that you care about the people you are working with and the job you are doing.  It’s about building relationships. It effectively says:

“Look at all the time I spent just to tell you (in a subtle way) that I respect you.”

So according to this theory, if neck ties were to be eliminated, they would be replaced by some other activity that would be equally effortful, unpleasant or impractical because that’s the whole point!