Not being taken srsly @ work - shd I cut my hair?

I wonder why you think it is your hair in particular?

Anyway, regardless of whether your hair is the reason or not, if colleagues are treating you unprofessionally because you are an attractive woman, then it is they who have to alter, not you. Do you have a line manager who could help you address it with them?

Unless your hair is conspicuously straightened, dyed, etc, as part of an overly made-up artificial presentation that might be viewed as unprofessional in a work context, I can't see why you would focus on it.

Bit of a stretch for posters to say OP sounds unwell 😂 whether the ambulance put it's siren on for her isn't really the point, it's the fact that her colleague/volunteer suggested it was because of her. It's uncomfortable for colleagues to draw attention to what you look like consistently.

I had my hair dyed bleach blonde when I was in my early twenties (less than a decade ago) and my dad was mortified. I was a paralegal looking for a training contract and he was a lawyer. He told me I would need to dye it back if I wanted to be taken seriously 😟

I agree with this. You don’t sound entirely well OP. Ambulance drivers have to explain why they use sirens, everything is monitored.

I think people are trying to be nice to you. Smile and nod. Tie it back if you want to 🤷

Don’t cut your hair. There’s nothing unprofessional about it.

Op do you brush your hair at your desk a lot, flick it back all the time?

@Allwelcone
You write in a twee 'txt spk' way in your title. Maybe you imagine your hair being the issue when it's just you trying to act younger than you are IYSWIM?

It's hard when you're attractive, but that's usually just first impressions. If you're good at your job you'll get respected and have a reputation for that

Don't be silly, why on earth would you do that, if it's not what you prefer?
I'd be finished very swiftly with them.
I'm 45, just found that you are 49!
Your style of writing - I thought you were about 25.

Humble brag alert.

You don't need to cut your hair.

You do need to nip any inappropriate comments/behaviour in the bud.

Hasn't stopped Anna Heslop! First female helm of RNLI Cullercoats. She is very respected by all the crew members.

rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2024/february/200-voices-anna-heslop

I'd pull your colleague up, she's weirdly, inappropriate sexually. I'm too perplexed at how you don't know how to navigate sexism at 49. Did you really believe that the ambulance did that? Are you sure that your behaviour hasn't started your colleagues to take the piss out of you? If not start challenging.

I think what you're saying is that you are unusually attractive and that this affects how others behave towards you. This is certainly very possible but all the evidence is that being attractive is advantageous in the workplace resulting in a higher salary and earlier promotion than average. So I would say don't worry about it.

I have an exceptionally beautiful boss actually and I can see it cuts both ways to some extent (she's 50 and men are still often ridiculous and sleazy around her) but overall I can see it's a huge advantage. I've literally seen men concede massive points worth serious money in negotiations because they want to please her. She's also very bright and a great person by the way!

The ambulance thing makes you sound a bit mad though!

Is the 49 a typo for 19? I'm struggling to understand how an attractive, blonde woman of 49 is trying to work out how to navigate sexism for the first time.

If you work for a charity they will have policies on social media, respect at work and volunteer boundaries. It might be a good idea to read them.

You'll cope 😉

Cutting your hair won't make sexists less sexist. Cutting your hair won't make those who don't respect you now suddenly respect you.

You know that right?

You either have some extremely weird colleagues, or this is a troll post.

If you think tying your hair back will help, put it in a messy bun for work.

Why did you think the ambulance was blaring at you but not the volunteer?

"Not being taken srsly @ work - shd I cut my hair?"

Do you use those kinds of abbreviations in work communications? I'm honestly not trying to sound goady here, but that kind of thing can lead to people not being taken seriously. I can see you haven't used them in the main text of your OP, but you should also avoid them in email headers/on Teams/in text messages if you use them at work.

Have the vowels gone missing from your keyboard?

I think comments like the ambulance one could be stopped with “Don’t be ridiculous”. It sounds like colleagues are jealous - probably or your professionalism. Just keep professional attitude and distance from those idiots. Step back and ask them to repeat what they said and then clarify what they meant. Maybe start diarising it in case you feel it is an attempt to subtly sabotage your professional image.

Do the non-blonde women automatically look unglamorous, then?

On a visit yesterday with a volunteer a silent ambulance went by but blared it's siren at me which the older volunteer said was on purpose. I thought it undermined my authority.

If this is real, then I seriously think you need to go and see someone, because you don’t sound well. Paranoia. Your thoughts are not normal op.