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Since blu is too busy being defensive, making assumptions, and jumping to conclusions and too coward to state the obvious, I will now weigh in on this subject. Some hairstyles are too extreme for certain jobs....but there are usually ways around it. This has nothing to do with whether the hair is natural or straightened.
The first question that should be asked when hiring someone is "Does the individual have the skills and experience to do the job?"
The second question is "Which candidate is best qualified to do the job?" That is the most important consideration of all. That should be considered before hairstlyes, etc.
Next, schools and, for jobs that involve interface with the public, companies do have the right to set grooming standards and dress codes consistent with their branding.
So if there is face time with clients and there are concerns about the most qualified candidate (w.r.t consistency with company branding and image) then this has to be addressed separately from the decision of who should be hired.
In all environments, employers have a right to expect that someone should be clean, tidy and well groomed regardless of race, colour creed, or hair length. The branding and company image only comes into play when there is client or public interface e.g. sales reps, corporate account manager, bank teller, hotel front desk clerk, flight attendant.
If someone is working in jobs that have little or no face time with the public, aside from safety considerations that can be resolved by tying back the hair, hairstyle should not come into play. For example, if someone is working as a designer, IT professional, engineer, commercial artist, etc., as long as the hair is clean and tidy, does hairstlye really matter?
There is a huge difference between:
and this
could not find a photo of an Asian man with long hair in a business suit
.....but hair as long as it is clean and neatly trimmed so that it is even can be tied back.
Now I have stayed at an Oman hotel where all of the staff was conservatively dressed consistent with company branding. I road back to the hotel on the employee bus one day and you wan' see Asian and Middle Eastern men with punked up, spiked and gelled hair....
...but that is not how they wear it at work.
Now when it comes to religious beliefs, that is a totally different issue. Companies do have an obligation for reasonable accommodation. So if someone is a Sikh, Muslim or Rastafarian, and not just an individual making a fashion choice, if the person is qualified for the job, there does have to be a compromise that does not involve cutting or trimming the hair.
The RCMP faced the same issue with Sikhs and there was eventually this accommodation.
Ditto for some Ontario municipalities:
durhampolicesikh.JPG
I can't find a photo but in Malaysia I have seen companies accommodate Muslim women by designing a scarf consistent with the company branding, company colours and logo. I have been to a pizzaria in Kuala Lumpur many times that did this. I believe it was Domino but I could be wrong. The look was similar to this but in company colours.
Since it is the locks argument that started this, for business, there is a huge difference between this which is fairly conservative:
and this which is definitely an extreme style.
dread in suit.jpg
Except for creative, design or entertainment companies, there are few companies that would hire or promote someone with a style like this to the executive suite. He would also have a hard time with the airlines or in the hospitality industry. It's just a fact people...don't shoot the messenger.
With some imagination, there are ways around it. It's not as if Rastafarians don't have a tradition of head coverings and if is in company colours. How is that inconsistent with branding and image?
It would take some getting used to if an executive had a business suit and a wrap like this in company colours but people would get used to it. The beard would be more challenging but, just as with the Sikh police officers, people would get used to it with time.
Now UWI has had professors with locks and UCWI has had at least one doctor with locks. I know that for a fact as an older relative who has since passed away was seen by him.
She did not realize he was the doctor. When the nurse asked if she had seen the doctor, she said no the only person in the room was a rasta man (she did not say man by the way).
Honestly, if an executive was the best qualified, experienced and skilled candidate for the job and he wore his hair like this, would it really reduce his effectiveness in doing the job?
businessmanlocks.jpg
I think not.
It would be better to have the most qualified corporate lawyer representing the company rather than someone with sub-par performance who had the "right look" but who botched the job and lost case after case. It would be better to have a sales rep. who consistently closes deals than to hire someone who fits the company image to a T and struggles to make quota.
That is what I told the bank in the Caribbean and convinced them to re-think their hiring policies re: locks.
The first question that should be asked when hiring someone is "Does the individual have the skills and experience to do the job?"
The second question is "Which candidate is best qualified to do the job?" That is the most important consideration of all. That should be considered before hairstlyes, etc.
Next, schools and, for jobs that involve interface with the public, companies do have the right to set grooming standards and dress codes consistent with their branding.
So if there is face time with clients and there are concerns about the most qualified candidate (w.r.t consistency with company branding and image) then this has to be addressed separately from the decision of who should be hired.
In all environments, employers have a right to expect that someone should be clean, tidy and well groomed regardless of race, colour creed, or hair length. The branding and company image only comes into play when there is client or public interface e.g. sales reps, corporate account manager, bank teller, hotel front desk clerk, flight attendant.
If someone is working in jobs that have little or no face time with the public, aside from safety considerations that can be resolved by tying back the hair, hairstyle should not come into play. For example, if someone is working as a designer, IT professional, engineer, commercial artist, etc., as long as the hair is clean and tidy, does hairstlye really matter?
There is a huge difference between:
and this
could not find a photo of an Asian man with long hair in a business suit
.....but hair as long as it is clean and neatly trimmed so that it is even can be tied back.
Now I have stayed at an Oman hotel where all of the staff was conservatively dressed consistent with company branding. I road back to the hotel on the employee bus one day and you wan' see Asian and Middle Eastern men with punked up, spiked and gelled hair....
...but that is not how they wear it at work.Now when it comes to religious beliefs, that is a totally different issue. Companies do have an obligation for reasonable accommodation. So if someone is a Sikh, Muslim or Rastafarian, and not just an individual making a fashion choice, if the person is qualified for the job, there does have to be a compromise that does not involve cutting or trimming the hair.
The RCMP faced the same issue with Sikhs and there was eventually this accommodation.
Ditto for some Ontario municipalities:
durhampolicesikh.JPG
I can't find a photo but in Malaysia I have seen companies accommodate Muslim women by designing a scarf consistent with the company branding, company colours and logo. I have been to a pizzaria in Kuala Lumpur many times that did this. I believe it was Domino but I could be wrong. The look was similar to this but in company colours.
Since it is the locks argument that started this, for business, there is a huge difference between this which is fairly conservative:
and this which is definitely an extreme style.
dread in suit.jpg
Except for creative, design or entertainment companies, there are few companies that would hire or promote someone with a style like this to the executive suite. He would also have a hard time with the airlines or in the hospitality industry. It's just a fact people...don't shoot the messenger.
With some imagination, there are ways around it. It's not as if Rastafarians don't have a tradition of head coverings and if is in company colours. How is that inconsistent with branding and image?
It would take some getting used to if an executive had a business suit and a wrap like this in company colours but people would get used to it. The beard would be more challenging but, just as with the Sikh police officers, people would get used to it with time.
Now UWI has had professors with locks and UCWI has had at least one doctor with locks. I know that for a fact as an older relative who has since passed away was seen by him.
She did not realize he was the doctor. When the nurse asked if she had seen the doctor, she said no the only person in the room was a rasta man (she did not say man by the way). Honestly, if an executive was the best qualified, experienced and skilled candidate for the job and he wore his hair like this, would it really reduce his effectiveness in doing the job?
businessmanlocks.jpg
I think not.
It would be better to have the most qualified corporate lawyer representing the company rather than someone with sub-par performance who had the "right look" but who botched the job and lost case after case. It would be better to have a sales rep. who consistently closes deals than to hire someone who fits the company image to a T and struggles to make quota.
That is what I told the bank in the Caribbean and convinced them to re-think their hiring policies re: locks.
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