'Have fun covering my shifts': Supermarket boss declares 'no unnatural [hair] colors,' employee maliciously complies

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 7, 2024 5:00 PM EST

This supermarket employee is learning that some bosses care way more about appearances than others. It really depends on your career path: if you're a lawyer, there's no way you can show up to work rocking green hair and lip piercings. But there are plenty of job opportunities where HR either doesn't care or doesn't have the power to instruct employees about that kind of thing. 

When you rock an unnatural hair color, people usually have one of three reactions. They'll either tell you they like it, say nothing, or just point out that you have colorful hair. It's surprising, and it catches people off guard. Not everyone can pull off bright rainbow colors, but those of us who do can't imagine life without it. The OP of this story felt strongly about their hair, too. They write that they'd had blue dreadlocks, followed by a shorter purple hairdo after taking their locs out. But their new boss wasn't happy with either of those "unnatural" colors, and decided to put her foot down about it. 

Check out this person's story, then check out the tale of one young barista who managed to get their first job shut down after learning they were being underpaid. 

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  • 01
    'Sara: You can't have hair like that! Me: *hands her the paperwork* Actually, I can'
    via Tommy van Kessel on Unsplash
  • 02
    Harass me for having white hair? Have fun covering my shifts.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 03
    Hello maliciouscompliance! Long time lurker, first time poster. On mobile, so sorry for any formatting issues. It's a long one; I like story time. This happened about two years ago. I worked for a very popular supermarket chain in Australia. I had been shunted there after their sister company went belly- up.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 04
    Now, I LOVE dying my hair crazy colours. It's a quirk. It makes me feel more confident in myself; and as someone with social anxiety, it was a great pickmeup when I was feeling down. When I first got transferred there I had blue dreadlocks, and we had a male manager. There was never any issues with my hair or dress standards, and I took pride in my work and worked hard.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 05
    About a year after, we got a new store manager. Let's call her Sara. Sara had very clear cut ideas about how her store should be run, and importantly, how her employees should look. At this stage, I had taken my dreads out and just had short, purple hair.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 06
    According to the employee guidelines, employees should "appear professional and hygienic at all times." No mention of hair colour whatsoever, however the phrase 'professional' is open to interpretation by management. You can see where this is going.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 07
    It began as passing comments on my hair such as, "wow, that's bright!", Ect. But as other employees began colouring their hair, Sara sent out a memo that no unnatural colours were allowed.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 08
    I was very sad. Coloured hair was a part of my identity, and gave me the confidence I needed to interact with 200+ customers a day. I decided I would bleach my hair snow white. So I did.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 09
    Now, if any of you have done this before, you would know you need to use purple shampoo to counter balance that brassy, 'bleach yellow' tone to keep it white. This is a fine balancing act. Don't leave the shampoo in long enough, and you have yellow hair still. But too long and your hair can get tinged pastel purple.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 10
    Well, on a few occasions I left it in a little too long, and my hair was the slightest shade of purple. Not even pastel; only just off a light gray colour.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 11
    Well that was all Sara needed to gun it for me, going as far as to threaten to send me home without pay.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 12
    As this was going on, I had become friendly with the bottle store next to the supermarket. (Under the same parent company, but a different chain of command.) I would cover their staff's breaks, and instead of standing around like the others do, I would face up the store and help out.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 13
    Well the manager had noticed my efforts, and poached me. The best part? Because they had a different chain of command and a different interpretation of the employee guidelines, I was allowed to have coloured hair again!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 14
    I immediately took up the offer, and the night before my first shift there set about making my hair a F#@ING RAINBOW.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 15
    I get in there. My new manager loves my hair. My customers a raving about it, asking how I got it so bright, what brand of dye, ect.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 16
    Well good ol' Sara spots my beacon of a head from across the supermarket and beelines it straight for me.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 17
    But I was ready for her. I printed the employee guidelines and called our HR team just to get further clarification that I was correct in my interpretation.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 18
    I had customers in the store, but this didn't stop her from trying to tear into me.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 19
    Sara: You can't have hair like that! Me: hands her the paperwork actually, I can. My manager has no problem with my hair, and the guidelines say nothing about hair colour. Sara: You are going to make my employees think that is acceptable. Me: When your employees mention my hair, I tell them straight out that it is not allowed in your store. Sara: This isn't the last of it. I'm going to HR about this.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 20
    My new manager later told me that Sara had gone over her head to try to have me relocated to another store, and went to her area manager and complained to him about me.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 21
    She was told in no uncertain terms that my hair colour is not against the rules, that she is out of line to even reprimand me in the first place and that if she does not cease her harassment she would have to take a permanent vacation.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 22
    Epilogue: Over the next year I would change my hair to some other crazy colour combination at least weekly. I loved the look on her face everytime I walked past. My mental health has gotten so, So much better since leaving that toxic work environment. I feel bad for my excoworkers who still live under her tyranny though.
    via u/[deleted]

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hair boss workplace-stories jobs color job bosses work workplace colorful rainbow customers hairstyle malicious compliance malicious-compliance-reddit malicious compliance reddit
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