![]() ![]() Putting on some protective masks is harder with a beard, especially if they can’t seal up properly. There’s not much you can do about most of those, especially if they ban them for safety or health reasons. It’s true that some career pathways say no to beards. Some careers are “shaved only” or “mustache maximum” Sometimes the worst problem is when the boss or top managers are allowed beards, but employees like you aren’t. The excuses have been many, but invariably workers have had to fall in line or risk not being promoted - or even losing their jobs. It’s a simple fact that people see a bearded man as more masculine – and some managers and execs don’t like that and feel intimidated into flexing their egos.Īs a result, many leaders have perpetuated myths about beards being unhygienic, scruffy, a mark of laziness, “unbusinesslike” (whatever that means), rebellious, untrustworthy, and on and on. And there’s really no reason for disallowing/restricting beards other than those bigwigs feeling challenged and intimidated by the open display of masculinity, or the excuse that allowing beards will somehow lead to a snowballing drop in standards. ![]() The masculinity problemįrequently, a workplace’s rules or expectations about business beards come down to one or two leaders, or a club of them. ![]() Beards are mainstream now, including business beards. These attitudes persisted in the 1970s and 1980s when mustaches thrived, but then the stereotype of “pornstaches” developed, and so clean shaven was seen as “trustworthy” and “upstanding”.īreaking through those old attitudes has taken time, but it’s happening. People who weren’t to be trusted by the establishment. When beards started making a comeback in the 1950s and 1960s, they were dismissed as a fad for beatniks and hippies. Then the 1918-1920 Spanish Flu pandemic banished beards for a long time, due to false information being spread around that they were unhygienic disease carriers. The First World War started changing things because military gas masks were difficult to fit over thick beards. Even British military men sported beards as a way of displaying virility and contrasting with their clean-shaven enemies, the French. Heavy facial hair was a mark of masculinity, respectability and soundness. Beards, especially the bushy and burly kind, were all the rage in the 19 th century among businessmen, politicians, the gentry and also the working class. History is on your sideĬlean-shaven as the accepted business standard is pretty new in human history. And we hope you can have respectful dialogue with your boss and remain a gainfully employed rugged bro. T he business beard is becoming more accepted as society becomes accustomed to facial hair and as untrue stereotypes keep getting busted. But take heart because times continue changing. If business beards are a problem where you work, it really comes down to weighing up how much you love your beard against how much you love your job. The choice is entirely up to you, of course. So, what do you do? Do you trim your whiskers conservatively short in order to meet your work’s business beard requirements? Do you stick it to the man and let your mane run wild? Or do you give up on your rugged dream entirely and shave, just to keep the peace and your job? But mostly, workplace rules about beards seem to be based on the bosses’ personal tastes and desires to control things within the arbitrary business “image” standards. ![]() Of course, there are a few industries and job situations where beards are forbidden, for varied reasons. But it’s amazing that many workplaces have adopted business casual dress standards, but still either frown upon full facial hair or police it tightly. And it can be a bit of a touchy question, even in the 21 st century, believe it or not.Īs beards have become mainstream in the last 10 years, it’s great that many workplace attitudes have loosened up regarding the “business beard”. To beard or not to beard? That is the question… at least it is in the workplace. ![]()
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