To think the public don't give a rat's arse about the colour of my hair....

[PinkieMinx]

Have been forced encouraged to take leave until my hair colour grows out as work have introduced new rules which include a hair rule - they do not allow 'unnatural' hair colours (eg. green, blue, pink, pillar box red, magenta... you get the idea).

AIBU to think the general public would not care about my hair colour?

Have you thought about having 'wedges' of colour put in? you can clip it under your 'real' hair? I've done that one before.

tbh it depends on your job/role.appearance and demeanour are important in creating a rapport and universal acceptance.key being universal, whether you like it or not public do have expectation and preference for how certain jobs look

im not saying an alternative look or bright hair renders you lesser employee. i am saying for some clients it is a barrier and they may consider you differently

was your hair those colours when you started or did you change appearance after while

I think it depends mostly on WHERE you live & work, & secondly on what you actually do as to whether or not people will care, sadly I expect a lot of areas will still have a problem with certain professions looking too out of the ordinary....though as you say other staff members are less well turned out than yourself, despite the "normal" hair colour, IMO its a bit daft

but that said I DO think your employers ABVU to change the rules now.....starting off that way...fine...When I first moved to London, I turned down a pretty prestigious job as I was cross that they expected me to dye my then also pink hair, even though I wouldn't be dealing with customers etc........but they offered me the job & when I accepted then told me I was expected to dye my hair....I told them to stick it & took work elsewhere............your employers have accepted you as you choose to be, so I doubt very much they can legally change the rules now [hmm[

We have Policemen/Women, Drs Bankers & any other profession you can think of, well turned out yes, but multi hair & piercings etc & no-one cars so long as they are doing their job properly.......& thats as it should be

If you converted to Islam they'd have to let you wear a headscarf wouldn't they? Then they wouldn't know what colour your hair was. Thats what I'd do and I'd threaten them with every discrimination law in the book if they refused to let me wear a headscarf. Do it!

The trouble is it does affect what people think of you. Perhaps it shouldn't, but it does.

I work for a Bank prospecting for commercial customers. Twice last week prospects complained about "unprofessional" people from my competitors being improperly presented. One had no tie, another a leather jacket Imagine if they'd had pink hair! No matter how good they were at their job, there was no way they were going to get that business, simply because of their appearance.

How long will you be off for and will you be paid? I could do with a bit of a break.....

Police officers arent allowed bright hair or peiercings and we are not supposed to have visible tattoos either.

I'm a hairdresser and we have to cover up any visible tattoos (using plasters) and remove facial piercings...boss thinks they "dont present a professional image" . On the other hand, we are allowed almost any hair colour/style we like!! (assuming it was done by one of the other stylists!) Nowt wrong with pink hair, but I guess there are some ultra-conservative bosses and with the economy being as it is they might be terrified of potentially losing a sale/contract/reputation.

I am sure a good lawyer will still be a good lawyer in his/her pyjamas. However, I wouldn't take him/her seriously if they appeared in court wearing them.

I wouldn't care what color anyone's hair is, but particular colors and styles would make me laugh out loud, as they are utterly ridiculous in my opinion (which is as valid as anyone else's). In particular positions, customers laughing internally (or externally) at you would definitely affect the image the company gets. So I do think YABU, and you can express your personality when you're out of your workplace. Customers go to companies to get something done, not to be confronted with anyone's personality.

A supervisor in my voluntary job has just dyed her hair bright pink.

Why can't you dye your funny colour hair to something more "natural".

Yes I would have trouble taking seriously a police officer or similar with weird-coloured hair. It would just be the most enormous distraction from anything they said.

i had a red flash in my hair.

i used to dye my haor all kinds of colours and i felt very strongly that the company i work for had made me into some kind of automiton drone, peronality drained - v. melodramatic of me, but it bothered me, anyway i had this flash of colour, but in such a way as i could tie my hair back and it wouldn't offend anyone or comrpimise my professional appearance. a good comprimise i think

The problem with saying 'some people will mind', is where do you draw the line? If a company operates in a racist area, is it ok to not hire ethnic minorities in responsible or public positions, in case they don't get taken seriously?

Personally, I'd not have a problem with a black, pink-haired, one-legged lesbian giving me medical advice, as long as her attitude (behaviour, voice tone, word choice) were professional. I can see how some people might, and I can see why some private practices might not hire her in order to cater for 'those people'. But I also think the latter case is rather sad, and possibly contributing to the problem: if (and obviously this would only happen in an ideal world) all the practices started hiring pink-haired lesbians, the complainy section of the public might be forced to get over their hangups a bit quicker.

Another thought, If you work for Morrissons and have hair tastefully dyed Sainsbury's magenta and tan, then I can see how that may cause a bit of an issue.

ryuk,that is one hell of a tangent you gone off on.one black leg lesbians, complainy public - well quite a wee rant that was.

having an exoectation of certain attire does not make the public complainy,what a daft thing to say

certain jobs/roles/professions the public/clients expect a certain demeanour and attire, and in return one gets a salery for time sacrificed,work done and fact they have adhered to a normative dress code

in my job i am required to dress smartly, as clients have an expectation of it.and i want to be judged on my workplace abilities,not have distraction of what is she wearing. Look at her hair....

we have a dress code for staff and students.it is adhered to.if it wasnt risk being sent home

I agree with dressing appropriately and always have done - I think hair is a seperate issue.
When I worked in a bank I had same unusual hair colours, still got promoted and was still a favourite with the customers. I was in charge of new accounts and brought in quite a lot of business. I guess that's why I never considered it an issue before.