Every organization has its own code of conduct and set of rules that its workers should follow if they want to remain employed there. It only becomes a problem if the higher-ups begin adding random things to the rules that they feel are right.
This is what happened to a young woman in her company when her boss randomly called her out for having unshaven legs, which led to Human Resources also being involved. She never thought it’d be an issue and was shocked when he brought it up to her as a “hygiene” problem.
When a person is called out by their superiors for not following an unwritten dress code at work, it can end up making things uncomfortable
The poster shared that she had no problem with having unshaven leg hair, and since she had been dating her boyfriend for three years, he didn’t mind either
Image credits: grgapitich88 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The problems began when one day her boss told her that a few people had complained about her not shaving her legs, and that it went against company policy
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman called out her supervisor for acting like her body hair was a hygiene issue when he didn’t shave his legs either, and she threatened to go to Human Resources
Image credits: BlinderDisco
Later on, the woman got an email from Human Resources stating that they wanted to set up a meeting to discuss the matter further, which made her feel anxious
The poster shared that she didn’t feel the need to shave her legs often and actually found it a waste of money. It didn’t seem to bother her that much, and she only did it more often when dating someone new, but since she had been with her boyfriend for a while, it didn’t seem like an issue.
More and more women are embracing their natural body hair just like this, and studies have found that only 26% of ladies between the ages of 16-24 feel they should shave. In fact, the idea of being completely hairless is more common among older women over the age of 60, probably since it was done more by their generation.
In this case, the woman didn’t feel the need to shave off her leg hair for work, and in the eight months that she had been at the company, she faced no problem at all. Unfortunately, this all changed when her boss randomly told her that people had complained about her leg hair and that it violated their organization’s hygiene policy.
To get a better insight into this situation, Bored Panda reached out to Peter Duris, who’s the CEO and co-founder of Kickresume. He said that “It would be extremely unusual—and likely inappropriate—for a company to have a formal rule in place that says women have to shave their legs or any other body hair.”
“That said, some organizations may have an unspoken company culture that expects their staff to present themselves in a certain way. In those environments, an employee who chooses to groom or dress differently may stand out, even if they are not violating any formal policy,” Peter added.
He also shared that people who are working in such environments can find ways to fit in with workplace dress norms while still maintaining their personal style. This can include hiding tattoos with long sleeve shirts, or wearing pantyhose if they’d prefer not to shave their legs.
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman was shocked that her body hair was such a big deal, and she confronted her boss about it by asking him if he shaved his leg hair at all. She also told him that if he wanted to take the matter any further, then they would have to involve Human Resources in the conversation.
Peter Duris explained that “If the manager had received complaints from clients that the promotion team weren’t presenting themselves in the way that they expected, it may be reasonable to pass that feedback on—carefully and professionally—as information rather than criticism. Even though whether you shave or not is a personal choice.”
He also added that “It’s absolutely not professional or appropriate to represent not shaving your legs as a hygiene issue. The manager didn’t handle this situation well at all, and I think he was aware that his approach wasn’t appropriate, given that the original poster described him as seeming uncomfortable during their conversation.”
According to lawyers, since attractiveness is usually what sells in customer-facing roles, supervisors might have the right to set appearance or dress-code-related rules in the workplace. It’s important for both the company and the employee to be clear on their discrimination laws and to see where their specific issue falls.
The woman definitely felt like her company was in the wrong for making her leg hair an issue, but she felt concerned after Human Resources scheduled a meeting with her. She also clarified that her boss was usually quite a chill guy who didn’t enforce dress codes, so she felt that someone else had pressured him to have the conversation with her.
What do you think the woman should do in this complicated situation? Do share your honest thoughts down below, and tell us if you’ve ever faced a dress code issue at work.
Folks were slightly divided on the issue, with some thinking the poster was right, and others thinking she should abide by their rules
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