There was a recent story in the news about a kid who showed up to work at Cedar Point and was turned away because he had dreadlocks. It might have been a non-story if he didn't say that he was told in the interview that it was OK, and even though I think it sucks, I understand their position. Similarly, a friend was telling stories about working at Disney, in a total back office capacity in IT, and being told he had to keep his beard a certain length. Then they had him speak to some high school kids, gave him a Disney polo, only to tell him he had to cover his tattoos. (Ironically, the company pulls out their VP with the pony tail and 40 pounds of earrings for TV all of the time.)
I find these kinds of mandates a little odd these days. Sure, my younger self probably felt this way because of a desire to challenge authority, but now it just feels like the energy put into these issues of compliance and conformity are a waste of time that don't add any value. Let's be clear that non-conventional appearance isn't the same as being unclean. It also has nothing to do with status (though people certainly make it about that). I can guarantee you that my friend with the beard and the tattoos makes more than 95% of all Americans.
My friend is in my line of work, so he's not going to starve or have a hard time finding good work. He's also good at what he does, and people like that are in short supply. So you have to wonder why a company would set a standard like that based on arbitrary tastes when it means overlooking the best people. It's only slightly less insane than passing on people due to their age, race or gender, in my opinion. And yes, they are arbitrary tastes... they are not indicative of a person's ability.
Some companies seem to embrace the non-conventional. You'd be hard pressed to find someone working in an Apple Store without at least one visible piercing or tattoo. (I guess that's unsurprising for a company built on "think different.") Technology companies in the general sense are pretty liberal, not just with appearance, but also with clothes. I've been interviewed by people banking a half-million dollars a year wearing flip-flops.
I definitely get the desire of businesses to manage perceptions for a skeptical public, but it's pretty odd that our culture trusts a kid with dreadlocks to setup your iPad but not strap you into an amusement ride. I understand corporate cultures that require suits and ties even less. I'm skeptical of anything that doesn't add value. That the problem is sometimes the public at large and not the employer doesn't make it better.
Diana and I saw a young woman in line ahead of us last weekend at Universal Studios with pink hair, green lipstick, tattoos and the cutest Harry Potter tennis dress you've ever seen. It was a really fantastic, put together look. I'm not sure why people would find her weird instead of interesting. That's unfortunate.
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