A young woman recently took to Reddit to ask for opinions about whether she should have to shave her legs for work after her boss called her out for hygiene issues. This is her full story.
She Travels a Lot for Her Job
OP is a 21-year-old woman who works for a promotion company. She travels a lot for her job and works at events and festivals representing her company.
She’s not in the office a lot due to the nature of her job. But recently, she went in to grab some materials for her next road gig and popped in to say hi to her boss before she left again.
She noticed right away that he was acting sort of awkward and quiet, and then he asked her to come in so they could talk about something. He shut the door behind her, which gave her that sinking feeling you get when you know you’re in trouble.
The boss stammered around but finally got around to telling her what was on his mind. It seems he had been getting some complaints from clients and co-workers about her hygiene.
She Didn’t Shave Her Legs
He wasn’t specific, but when she pressed him for details, he said people were upset that she didn’t shave her legs. He even said it went against company policy, which was a new one to OP.
OP goes on to explain in her post that she rarely shaves her legs because it’s a hassle and because she has very little body hair anywhere, including her legs. She even says her eyebrows are barely visible.
About the only time she shaves her legs on a regular basis is when she’s starting up a new relationship. And at the time of the post, she had been dating her current boyfriend for three years.
He’s fine with her “hairy” legs, and so she doesn’t see a reason to waste her time on needless grooming.
It Was Her Choice!
But besides having good reasons for not wanting or needing to shave her legs, she thinks that it should be her choice, anyway. So she turned the tables on her boss.
“Do you shave your legs?” she asked him. He couldn’t even form an answer, and they just sat there in silence.
After a while, when she couldn’t stand it any longer, OP told her boss that if he wanted to continue talking about her hairy legs, she’d prefer to have someone from HR present.
Her boss told her that there was nothing more to discuss on the topic and told her she could go.
HR Insisted to Meet Her
Later that same day, OP got an email from HR telling her that they wanted to meet with her the following week to continue the discussion about her hygiene. That freaked her out and sent her to Reddit to present the facts and ask for opinions.
OP makes it clear in her post that she doesn’t hold the conversation against her boss or think he was acting in a sexist way. At least not on his own.
She thinks he was getting some sort of pressure from above, though she doesn’t have any proof of that.
Reddit commenters have differing opinions in this situation.
Her Boss Is Way Out of Line
A lot of them think the boss was way out of line and is definitely acting in a sexist way regardless of what sort of pressure he might be facing.
Others say that the young woman is representing her company out in public and needs to present the image that they want for themselves. They equate her role to that of a model.
Still others think both sides are off base. They think OP should shave her legs but that the company called her out in the wrong way.
So what do you think of this story? Does OP have the right to leave her legs unshaved, even if it goes against company policy?
Or does the company have the right to make her shave in the name of hygiene and image if she wants to keep her job?
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The post Her Hairy Legs Caused a Big Mess at Work in a Sexist Way first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
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Source: Reddit