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

[Allwelcone]

Is having long blond hair not professional? Had some off/ odd behaviours and comments from colleagues recently e.g from a slightly older women "you'll be fine, one look at you and they'll be putty in your hands" and another volunteer wanting to put photos of me and him on his insta and over-praising my professionalism as if he was surprised.
I dress professionally at times. My colleagues are a mix of older and younger.

Thing is I look shit when I tie my hair back. Should i get it cut? I am 49.
How to navigate the sexism thing?

Wtaf is this

Oh sorry I meant i dress professionally at ALL times

It doesn't sound like you're having a crisis of confidence, with all due respect. The total opposite in fact.

Does my willowy figure let me down at work?? Colleagues are constantly commenting how attractive I am and how I stopped traffic the other day!

All I feel is stressed about how my thinness is making me look unprofessional. What can I do?

Bs.

How long are we talking about, hip long or something? Your hair sounds very normal unless there's something missing from the picture here? Is this really about the hair, or something else? How long have you been at this job?

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.

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

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.

Have the vowels gone missing from your keyboard?

"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.

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

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.

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'll cope 😉

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

You don't need to cut your hair.

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

Humble brag alert.

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.

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

@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?

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

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