A woman has shared how her boss demanded she dye her hair black as he believed her gray hair looks ‘unhygienic’ and ‘unprofessional’.
The employee took to Reddit and explained that her hair started turning gray but the white streaks are premature because she’s only 30.
However, she was told by her boss that she was not exerting efforts to look professional, claiming her hair was not ‘representing the brand.’
“I’m 30 and suddenly last summer my hair started to turn white very rapidly,” she wrote.
“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. 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.”
She continued: “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 sh*t because not one of our clients has ever seen my face and I seriously doubt they’d care I have grey hair.”
The next day, she was told to dye her hair or she would be fired. She is now considering quitting her job, and people on Reddit have encouraged her to leave.
“So grey hair is unhygienic now for women? Your employer has no right to control your appearance,” one person wrote.
“If you either walk out or are fired, it would be best to let the clients that you work with know that you will no longer be able to help them due to your hair not being coloured. That should be a fun time for your boss,” another 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,” a third added.
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