Long hair in the work place

[Wherecanitbe]

I am in my forties and growing up, I was always told by my mum and teachers/lectures that long hair should always be neatly tied up in the work place. Especially if it was an office or business environment.

The thinking was, that it looked professional and women were taken more seriously than if there hair was worn down and flowing.

Is this now considered an out dated view? Having watched the apprentice, most of the female candidates wear their hair down and blow dried.

I had a big chop last year as hot flushes are hell when you have hair everywhere. And a bun, messy or otherwise, was so heavy. I'm growing it back now, but I have number 1 undercut up to my ears so my neck is now cool.

I work in a lab and we have to have hair tied up at all times. Also no skirts or dresses allowed and ankles must be covered.

I work in an office and having my hair up or down makes no difference to my job in the same way someday I wear makeup and others I don't.

I do remember at school they were so strict on this and I never understood it. It was an all girl's school and half the lasses with very long hair would have a scrunchie sort of wrapped once or twice half way down their back so hardly looked tidy but that was more acceptable than my shoulder length hair being slightly overdue for a trim and barely being a cm passed the cut off point.

My maths didn't improve when my hair was up or down and not all ponytails are neat.

I’m in my 40s and rarely wear mine up. It hasn’t affected my career progression and no-one has ever asked me to tie it up. I’m not sure how I’d react if they did!

DS has -beautiful thick wavy auburn-- hair well past his shoulders, always tied back for work

I'm early 50s with hair just past my shoulders. I wear it up occasionally. The rest of the time it's loose with no styling. Wash it every other day and blast it with hairdryer.

I guess I should get it cut shorter, but I worry I'd then have to spend more time styling it each morning.

I work on the Tube in London, quite often got my head near machinery (ticket machines, lifts, escalators etc) and I have to tie it back. Though how long both men and women have their hair is not relevant.

Outdated view.
I think very normal to have say shoulder length hair, sometimes longer, loose in the office.
Very long hair though might get in the way so is probably best tidied away somehow but I can’t see people commenting in this day and age.

Gosh, I am late 50s and this seems extremely outdated.
Clean, tidy and appropriate for work conditions ( food, machinery etc ) , but I worked in a notably staid profession and it was not an issue.

I think it's a really out dated view - unless food is involved, or for safety reasons (moving machinery) or where you work is really mucky for some reason then it doesn't matter. Having said that blow drying takes ages (or is expensive) so hair up is often easier and quicker.

It’s because blowdrys have become more common, prior to that you could only keep shortish hair in place. If you can’t be arsed to blow dry you’d still need to tie it up if you were wearing a suit.

Although as offices are much more casual now, it’s less important full stop. But still think straightish sleek hair is seen as the ideal even in more casual corporate environments, which makes life hard for black woman and other curly haired women.

I'm 40, work in a very corporate type of setting (think: black suit central), and I wear my mid-back length hair open with a nice blow dry most of the time.

I don't think anyone's ever batted an eyelid in the >10 years I've been here.

it was less outdated when there were more manual pieces of equipment in an office such as typewriter, hand cranked copier etc or where pieces of safety legislation not in place and machinery not covered etc where moving parts are

But in todays world its irrelevant