Why do Jobs Make you Shave? We break down the Top Reasons!

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If you are looking to get back into the grind of corporate America or working for the man in some capacity there are definitely some major pros, but also some things you have to be prepared for.

With bigger companies come plenty of policies, training, and things that you normally don’t experience working for yourself in small businesses.

One of those rules if you work in a customer facing environment is being clean shaven.

So, why do jobs make you shave?

Jobs make you shave because they want to promote a consistent image to their clients and customers which may identify facial hair as being unprofessional in the workplace.

While companies have certainly evolved when it comes to facial hair if you work in an environment where you interact with an older generation each day don’t be surprised if there are strict facial hair policies.

Top 3 Reasons jobs make you shave

1. Appearance to clients

You would be surprised that most companies really don’t care internally about whether or not their employees are clean-shaven.

What companies mostly care about, especially if it is a service-based business, is keeping their customers happy.

For example, if you get a job at a bank, many of the customers that come into the bank may old school and the bank may prefer their employees to be clean-shaven since they are ultimately in business to serve their clients.

2. Extra Work to Monitor

Facial hair has evolved quite a bit as the years have gone on. As a result, there is no telling how long some beards or mustaches could potentially get and employers don’t want to get into the babysitting business of telling who needs to shave or not.

The Yankees have a no facial hair policy which has been in place since 1973 by owner George Steinbrenner. They are allowed to have a mustache only as Steinbrenner wanted to create a corporate attitude for the Yanks and help them stand out from the rest of the league.

3. Uniformity

Some jobs make employees shave because they want to have uniformity amongst their employees. Companies want to project an image and have consistency amongst how employees dress and appear and facial hair is one of those things that can get out of control if there aren’t any checks and balances in place.

Can an employer make you clean-shaven?

Yes, an employee can have policies on facial hair that you have to follow if you agree to take a job at the company. Companies like Chick Fil A have facial hair policies and they are very common at larger companies.

If you are passionate about your facial hair, you should check upfront to make sure that there are no rules against facial hair before you take a job.

One idea to avoid having any sort of facial hair policy is to try and start your own business so you can set your own facial hair policy and never have to worry about trimming your beard ever again.

Can I refuse to shave for work?

Yes, you can refuse to shave but if your company has a policy against certain styles of facial hair there may be consequences.

If you know you want to have a long beard for the rest of your life, you may want to pursue a career that embraces beards and where they are widely accepted.

Here is a good list of careers for people with beards. Jobs where you work outside in a mechanical role or at a national park typically embrace facial hair. Truck drivers and skilled labor jobs like electricians, welders, plumbers, etc are also careers where facial hair doesn’t seem to matter that much.

At the end of the day, office jobs and jobs or jobs at big corporations are typically going to have the most stringent requirements for jobs that make you shave.

Small businesses are going to have much more convenient policies when it comes to facial hair so that could be another thing to consider when looking for a new job.

Is it worth shaving for a job?

It depends on how bad you want the job and what you will gain financially or benefits-wise by taking the job.

No one wants to be forced to lose their sense of individuality but in some situations, it may be worth it if the pros outweigh the cons.

If you are unemployed and you have a great job offer, it would be silly not to take the job simply because the job makes people be clean-shaven.

However, if you have two job offers and one company doesn’t have a facial hair policy and the other one does, it may be worth taking the job at the company that embraces facial hair.

Does having a beard affect getting a job?

No company will ever admit that it affects getting a job for the fear of being accused of being discriminatory, but there are people who judge based on appearance and sometimes facial hair is something that people see as appearing “sloppy” in some sort of way.

While this may not make sense, it is just an unfortunate reality of life, so if you really want a job it definitely won’t hurt you to be clean-shaven.

On the other hand, if you are trying to get a job at a company that has a culture that embraces beards, it may help you to have facial hair!

For instance, if you frequently shop at an Outdoor Store whose employees all have facial hair and you want to apply for a job there, it may be beneficial to have an appearance that fits in with the rest of the culture of the staff.

One idea is to go visit the companies you are interested in working for and check out who their employees dress and check out whether or not they allow facial hair.

Check out sites like Glassdoor to read through employee reviews as well and see if you can learn if a job makes employees be clean-shaven.

Why do jobs make you shave Conclusion

While being forced to shave for a job is never an ideal situation, you can avoid running into issues if you do your research before you take a job by working at a company that has no facial hair policy or better yet, embraces facial hair altogether!