Grey hair unprofessional We should all know by now that there’s nothing wrong with getting older, or with showing the signs of ageing through things like wrinkles and grey hair.
But one woman has been left furious after her boss demanded she dye her hair black to cover up her greys, as he believed her new look was “unprofessional” and “unhygienic”.
Sharing her story anonymously on Reddit, the woman explained her hair began turning grey “very rapidly”, and said the white streaks in her black hair are premature as she’s only 30 years old.
But instead of being compassionate about the woman’s sudden change of appearance, her boss told her she wasn’t making enough of an effort to look professional and claimed her grey hair wasn’t “representing the brand” properly.
She wrote: “I’m 30 and suddenly last summer my hair started to turn white very rapidly. I have long black hair and it’s very noticeable.
It’s like in the span of two months a third of my hair suddenly turned white.
“It does not bother me in the slightest and I never wanted to cover it with dye because I actually like it.
“My boss is one of those people who inherited a company and only shows up at our workplace a few times a year, so I had not seen him since early 2021.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The two other times he was in the offices we didn’t coincide so this week was the first time he saw me in about a year.
“Without even saying hello he asked me, ‘What’s wrong with your hair?’. I told him that since last summer my hair had started turning grey.
He said this is a workplace and I have to ‘maintain my hygiene’ and ‘make an effort to look professional’ because I’m representing ‘his brand’.
I work in an office space with 14 other people and I only interact with clients over the phone.
“I do maintain my hygiene, my hair is clean and well kept and my grey hair doesn’t represent his brand for shit because not one of our clients has ever seen my face and I seriously doubt they’d care I have grey hair.” Things then took a turn for the worse the following day when the woman was approached again to be told to dye her hair – and was told she’d be fired if she didn’t comply.
She added: “The next day I arrived at work and HR, who is the owner’s brother-in-law and has that title just to collect a paycheque, asks me why I haven’t coloured my hair yet after my talk with the boss.
“I told him, ‘you can’t be serious right?’, and I tried to explain how grey hair has nothing to do with hygiene or being professional.
He said he gets it but his brother-in-law told me to fix it because he wants me to ‘be my best self’ and if I don’t comply he’s gonna have to discipline me for insubordination.”
The woman is now considering quitting her job, and commenters on Reddit have encouraged her to do so.
One person said: “Hygiene? I’m so sorry. I just can’t get over that. I’m so sorry you’re facing it. Fighting it takes so much energy. What a bizarre shock.” — Mirror.Co.Uk
