I work for a large company that lists all the HR policies online. There is no HR policy about natural hair color. I’ve been thinking about going for some wacky highlights for a while now (pink or blue), but I’ve yet to make the leap. I guess my concern is, I’m wondering whether the company culture supports it. For an insurance company, it is a pretty liberal place–we have out LGBT employees, insurance coverage for domestic partners even though gay marriage isn’t legal in my state yet, and there are plenty of people with visible tattoos and nose/lip/eyebrow piercings. But no crazy hair colors, other than a couple of black ladies who have blonde or maroon streaks.
When I asked a couple supervisors about this, they didn’t say it couldn’t be done. I was told there is no policy against it. But I still get the impression that it would be frowned upon. I don’t really see the difference between visible tats and funky hair, though (this is a call center, we aren’t physically customer-facing). I don’t really have plans to move up in this company, so I don’t care if it puts me on a few shit lists–unless it’s the kind of shit list that I’d get fired over.
I guess I’m kinda curious if anyone else has worked in a similar environment (or is in human resources) and could shed some light here. Or if anyone has any words of encouragement/discouragement. What would you do, if you wanted a funky hair color and worked at a place like this?
I’m hopelessly boring, so if I got the impression it would be frowned upon, I’d wimp out of doing it
However, if it’s not expressly forbidden, maybe you can try some kind of hair color you can wash out (like the stuff they sell for Halloween) just to see how people react to it.
Also, if you have dark hair they’d probably have to bleach your natural color out before putting in the funky colors so keep in mind that even when the pink/blue fades you’d still have bleached out streaks. (I know because in college, a friend of mine decided she wanted a purple streak and her natural color was dark brown)
I used to work in an insurance company, and unless it’s specifically prohibited by your dress code policy and you are not customer-facing, you should be able to do it. However, don’t underestimate the unspoken impact this may have on your career. Like it or not, it probably won’t be looked on favourably and you will be seen to be less serious about your career.
Thanks for the alternate perspectives. I don’t really mind if I’m seen as less serious, because I’m a fairly unserious person at work. My motto is: get the job done as fast as possible so I can fuck off sooner. I’m always helpful and informative to customers, of course, but I don’t drink the corporate kool-aid. And I’d like to do this while I’m still young enough to get away with it.
Yeah, I went blue and then green for a little while in college, and got much better results with pre-bleaching. I’m going to be getting a short haircut this weekend, so I’m not too concerned about that. If I do bleach and end up hating it, the streaks would grow out within 6 months at most.
I’d say this. Being allowed to do something doesn’t mean there are no consequences to doing it, even if that consequence is something as simple as people thinking of you different. Personally I’d think it would look great, but I work somewhere that has an approach to dress that is if you’re not meeting people externally or dealing with Ministers then you don’t need to dress up if you don’t want to (but of course all senior people choose to because they know it’s actually expected of them). I’ve turned up to meetings with a Minister in jeans and a tshirt, he didn’t care because I told him what he needed to know.
Congratulations on the short haircut. I lopped off my long hair about 5 years ago and I ain’t never going back. I couldn’t wait to get it cut, but the stylist was petrified of doing it
I work in a somewhat similar environment (Chicago suburbs as well), and there’s a couple crazy hair folks. Nobody bats an eye, and one is well into middle management.
I’d say go for it.
If it closes doors to you, you’ve probably just learned a valuable lesson about which doors aren’t for you.
Is there a dress code policy at all? If so, it may say something general about “appropriate business attire”, and HR may argue that your hair colour isn’t. I’d say that’s unlikely though, if visible piercings and tattoos are acceptable.
I too work for an insurance company that used to be a bit more casual but has moved more conservatively when it comes to this sort of stuff. I wouldn’t do such a thing here anymore as it would mean I would have to work harder to prove myself based on a superficial change.
That said, if your workplace allows jeans everyday, then I’d say go for it. If it’s a Friday-only or donation-days-only for jeans, then I’d say no. It’s a weird thing to base it on, but to me the jeans are a direct correlation as to what is expected from its employees in regards to appearance.
On the actual topic, I think it is a personal decision, but sometimes something like that can affect chances of promotion, etc. Do the individuals with visible tattoos hold leadership positions?
My youngest sister (34) works for a national chain store, and they’ve never had any problem with her green/blue hair. OTOH, she generally works the “before-dawn, unload-the-truck” shifts. I don’t recall seeing unnatural hair colors on the “front line” employees, but I don’t shop there all that often.
In a time of high unemployment why would you want to do something for fun or soley for the sake of making a point? Keep your natural hair and by the hair color that washes out and use it on your own time or buy a wig
I did. I called our HR line (which is outsourced to a third party) and was told there is no policy prohibiting it. They can’t weigh in on the culture (as they don’t work here and have no idea what our culture is like). I don’t have the ability to just go knock on an HR person’s door.
Anyway, I have an open email out to a cool lady who’s higher up around here than I am. I bought girl scout cookies from her before, and we’ve chatted casually about other stuff. Hopefully she advises me well. She deals with job shadowing and has a good eagle’s-eye view of a bunch of departments.
