What's the correlation between guys with longer hair and professionalism?

Question

I've been with a company for about nine months now. When I first started out my hair was cut to just above eye level, now I've grown it out close to my chin. For a while now, my higher-ups have been bugging me to get a hair cut, but I like it how it is.

I'm a part-time employee at a retail store. I just don't understand this request, because whenever I go somewhere to go shopping, I really couldn't care less how the employees' hair looks. Maybe it's due to the generation gap (I'm only 18). Could someone try to kindly explain this to me?

Answer 1

The reality is that long hair ranks alongside visible tattoos, scruffy clothes, piercings and any number of other fashion choices (ie. points of appearance that are very much within your control).

In all these cases, I have never seen a study which shows a correlation between fashion choices and professionalism. In my personal experience, I have also never seen a correlation between fashion choices and professionalism. I strongly contend that there is no correlation.

However, none of that matters. The fact of the matter is that some of your customers will assume a correlation between fashion choices and professionalism, even if none exists.

I used to have long hair at your age, but I was never customer-facing and nature took its course long before I was forced into cutting it short. I have tattoos but they are covered whenever I'm in the office, certainly whenever I'm facing a customer. I have deliberately had my tattoos in places that are usually covered.

Because I know that I'm professional, people who work with me know that I'm professional, but others don't, and I have to accept that society is such that someone may make an incorrect assumption based on my visible personal choices.

(I guarantee you that at least one person is already thinking about responding with a comment about tattoos being an indication of my poor judgement and that they wouldn't want to deal with me based on that alone. Some might even judge me for having a beard. But I'm lucky enough to be marketable and can ignore those people.)

Sadly, if you're going to be in retail, your bosses have every right to suggest that you will appear more professional to your customers if you keep your hair reasonably short. It stinks, I know, but they do. Because it doesn't matter what you or I think, if one customer walks away because of their assumptions, the business has lost out because you didn't cut your hair.

Most people, nowadays, simply don't care. But no one ever assumed that someone was unprofessional because they have short hair, no tattoos or piercings, were clean-shaven and wore a nice smart suit. (Except a tattoo artist, of course, to pick a rare example.)

Answer 2

The more you deal with customers, face-to-face, the more important being neat in appearance is to your employer. Retail doesn't mean short hair. If your clientele were teenagers or early 20's, or you worked in surf shop, or music store it might look appropriate. If the clientele was older, the company might think they would be turned-off.

If your company/store has a employee hand book, review it. They might discuss length of hair, or other appearance issues. They could discuss warnings or consequences. They might even suggest ways to minimize the issue.

If there are guidelines, were they discussed during the interview, training or orientation? Did you sign anything saying you read the handbook?

Keep in mind that in some places there are safety or health concern/regulations. There can also be religious exemptions.

Answer 3

Long hair (or loud shirts, or tattoos, etc) signal that you're not in the tight bounds of normal. In places that value standardization (Walmart, the Army, McDonalds, the Phone Company) you don't want to signal creativity. You want to signal that you know what's expected, and you'll do what you're told. There's little upside to the firm in you being better (does McDonalds want someone to experiment on their Big Macs?) and plenty of downside if you're worse.

In creative fields (software, advertising) there is more room for creativity. Even at some banks there is freedom. But... If you buck convention, you need to be good, because will assume you're either the best or the worst.

Answer 4

I had long hair throughout college and I had a similar situation working retail at a mom'n'pop bookstore. I was told to cut my hair and when I very politely said no, later that week I was accused of stealing money from the safe in the backroom and was fired. Its okay though because I got the last laugh when Borders opened up in town later that year and they went out of business REAL quick.

Long hair can be a problem sometimes as it can get dirty and grungy rather easily and it takes a little more effort to stay clean and presentable. You have to tie it back or comb it frequently and well or it will get knotted and make you look exceptionally dirty.

With that being said, many women have long hair and most do a very good job of keeping it clean and staying well groomed and presentable. At that point any judgements against a person for having long hair come down to what is acceptable by society. There are a certain subset of people who rather simple mindedly choose to shun those that are different and also judge people based entirely on their experiences.

In other words, it isn't long hair that these potential customers don't like, it is you because you decided to veer from the flock and express yourself in an individual and unique way. How dare you not step in line.

Coincidentally when I was in college I was also very much the brain-fried peace and love hippie but looking back I get the impression that a good deal of that behavior came out because with the long hair and the earth tones that consisted of my wardrobe basically influenced me to act in the way that everybody seemed to perceive me. I was being judged on appearances as a hippie, and subconsciously I feel like I acted like one because people expected it of me. Yes that was one of those pearls of wisdom that occasionally come to a stoner deep in meditation ;-)

I cut my hair after I graduated to find a real job and started dressing nicely and I began to change to a responsible adult because people came to expect it of me. Cops stopped pulling me over and searching my car, in fact I have been let off the hook for traffic tickets just because I wore a tie. This is a real and powerful thing, just look how an inner city black teen is influenced by how others perceive him and how he begins to alter his behavior to fit the mold that everybody expects of him.

The image you present to others dramatically alters how they perceive you and even more dramatically alters your own subconsciously influenced behaviors.

Answer 5

You can have long hair and look professional.

I have known men with hair like Fabio that looked professional. I have seen more that pulled their long hair into a pony tail. But most of them compensate with extra attention to detail in their professional dress. If you want long hair you may need to compensate with extra effort in other places.

Getting a hair cut does not mean getting your hair cut short.

The style you choose has quite a bit to do with this. Choose a style that is neat and ordered. I know people who have the unkempt look out of the office but make sure their hair is neat and orderly. Then after work then go into the bathroom and spend 10+ minutes to make it look like they just got out of bed.

Answer 6

Well, your productivity or professionalism doesn't get affected by having long or short hair. The point is that whenever you are working in a position which requires client/customer interaction, people(customers) would want to see the company representative as someone who looks well dressed and clean. They could judge you, and more importantly, the company, based on your appearance. Also, it's just maybe an unwritten rule. Like always wearing formals at the workplace.