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Shaving your head and the job
by
K5mow
on 20 May, 2014 13:20
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Hi all
Just wanted to know if any of you heard of the workplace frowning on shaving your head. What I mean is having a policy that you can't shave your head. Now my job has no such policy obviously but a friend of mine was interested in shaving his head and was concerned that his job may not allow it. I can't imagine having such a policy but wanted to know if any of you heard of this.
Roger
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#1
by
buddha
on 20 May, 2014 13:28
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Years ago when I was working the street one of the guys I worked with shaved his head and got all kinds of flack from the COs. There was no specific policy against shaving heads but he was not well regarded due to some of his antics (I mean he was bat-$h!t crazy) but the policy was just vague enough that the powerful within the organization could twist the wording to suit just about anything.
Lately, though, I have heard of nothing of the sort. That doesn't mean it never happens. If a policy is written vaguely enough a sick administrative mind can use it to their advantage in just about any case.
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#2
by
fencer
on 20 May, 2014 13:34
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IF there was such a policy, does that mean they could let you go if you started loosing your hair naturally?
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#3
by
Hingatao
on 20 May, 2014 21:07
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IF there was such a policy, does that mean they could let you go if you started loosing your hair naturally? 
They'd probably get sued for that. It'd be discrimination. Some companies, including the one I work for, have policies against "unnatural" hairstyles such as dying it green or something like that. But I can't see someone seriously considering baldness as unnatural even if it's by choice.
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#4
by
Sir Harry
on 20 May, 2014 22:42
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Maybe in the 1970s or 80s a shaved head was taboo in the workplace....Nowadays, many businesses seem okay with having sly guys in their numbers, and some even welcome a sly guy......Oddly enough, our new plant manager was sporting a short buzz, but he went sly two weeks ago and everyone seems to like it!
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#5
by
tobler1
on 21 May, 2014 04:46
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Back when I worked as an attorney, I once was asked about a policy that would have barred beards on the job. But I never once heard about any policies banning or that contemplated banning shaved heads.
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#6
by
Laser Man
on 21 May, 2014 07:47
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I don't know that a company could have a formal policy prohibiting shaved heads, but there can be informal pressure, especially if the company is very conservative. That being said, my company is conservative and there is no taboo. In fact several executives shave their heads.
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#7
by
Semi-Sly
on 21 May, 2014 08:18
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Well there is a "policy" against it in the United States Air Force. In fact, it can be punished under military criminal law, (Uniform Code of Military Justice). An Airman can only shave the scraps if he is MBP. Otherwise, it is strictly forbidden.
And now the Marine Corps forbids the traditional "horseshoe" haircut as well!
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#8
by
slybeard
on 21 May, 2014 08:24
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The only jobs I can think of that may have an issues is the entertainment and TV industry where that may have ceratin appearance standards or a contract for their on air employees.
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#9
by
Sir Harry
on 21 May, 2014 10:18
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Well there is a "policy" against it in the United States Air Force. In fact, it can be punished under military criminal law, (Uniform Code of Military Justice). An Airman can only shave the scraps if he is MBP. Otherwise, it is strictly forbidden.
And now the Marine Corps forbids the traditional "horseshoe" haircut as well!
It never was much of an issue in the Army...While not necessarily recommended, there wasn't any consequences for doing it AFAIK
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#10
by
K5mow
on 21 May, 2014 12:36
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Thanks for all the great information and the replies.
Roger
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#11
by
Semi-Sly
on 21 May, 2014 14:31
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Right. The building I work in shared with the Army. Lot of the soldiers in my building shave their heads - although every one of them that I have seen is MBP and not just BBC.
would you believe it though, we have one soldier here who wears a toupee! (And it is a really noticeable toupee'). Now I would have thought that would be prohibited for safety/operational reasons!
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#12
by
Sir Harry
on 21 May, 2014 15:00
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Right. The building I work in shared with the Army. Lot of the soldiers in my building shave their heads - although every one of them that I have seen is MBP and not just BBC.
would you believe it though, we have one soldier here who wears a toupee! (And it is a really noticeable toupee'). Now I would have thought that would be prohibited for safety/operational reasons!
I think a toupee is allowed if you have scarring and it doesn't interfere with the proper wearing of headgear. In combat most just shaved or went natural to ensure that their kevlars fit.
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#13
by
wpruitt
on 21 May, 2014 15:55
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The only jobs I can think of that may have an issues is the entertainment and TV industry where that may have ceratin appearance standards or a contract for their on air employees.
Somewhere I read that it is in Matt Lauer's contract that he cannot shave his head ... though nature is taking a pretty good toll! I guess NBC thinks Al Roker is enought sly for the Today Show
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#14
by
AgentBald
on 22 May, 2014 14:15
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SLy is so mainstream nowadays. I cant think of a typical job that would frown upon a shaved head for any reason.