The idea that your ability to do your job is somehow impacted by whether or not you have tattoos, what you’re wearing, or what color your hair is seems ridiculous, and that’s because it is. I totally get that there’s a level of appropriateness in certain workplaces, but I also get why Emily Benschoter was annoyed when her employer banned her from having pink hair. Her response to the ridiculous and unfair rule, however, is absolutely genius.
- Emily got her job without an in-person or video interview. That means that she was hired on merit rather than on how she looked, which seems like the right way to go. However, the bosses were none too pleased when they discovered her pink hair.
- She did let them know about her hair, and they told her it was a no-go. Before starting her job, which is in the hospitality industry, her bosses let her know that her pink hair wasn’t going to fly. Not wanting to change it, she found another way around it.
- Emily decided to wear different wigs to cover her pink hair. However, instead of choosing a regular wig that looks like your everyday hairstyle, she decided to go a little wilder. They all have natural hair colors, but the styles, however, are pretty hilarious.
- She took to TikTok to share some of her wig selections. From a curly black wig to an 18th-century style Founding Fathers number, she really is trying different things. Some of them are pretty hilarious, that’s for sure.
- Oddly enough, her bosses haven’t pulled her on it yet. Despite some of the wigs being more distracting than her naturally pink hair would be, she hasn’t been told off for it yet. However, she thinks she won’t get away with it forever. “Have they said anything about the wigs yet?” one person asked, to which she replied, “Not yet… emphasis on yet. I feel it coming.”
- Emily has even set up a “wigshlist” full of different wigs she’d like. After all, when you spend five days a week at work, you need different wigs to choose from so that you’re not wearing the same one every day.
- It’s all in good fun, but Emily is trying to make a serious statement. As she told Newsweek: “Dying my hair for a job I work at for 40 hours per week wasn’t an option. I am a self-expressive person and I feel very confident with pink hair so I came up with a solution to keep the job and my hair.”
- She feels disrespected by the company’s extreme stance on her pink hair. “It’s dehumanizing that I can’t be accepted at face value because my hair is a non-traditional color. It’s so superficial that my hair color is an obstacle,” she added. “I prefer my pink hair, it’s me to my core. So now I purposely pick wacky wigs which is quite funny.”
@emuhleeebee The pay ain’t matcing the demands, besties. ð also, WHOM SENT THIS WIG?! ð #wig #wigs #maliciouscompliance #pinkhair #coloredhair #corporatelife #corporatetiktok #corporatehumor
@emuhleeebee Siiigh. Besties y’all really loved this wig. Got a few more in the mail. Stay tuned ð . #corporatelife #corporatetiktok #corporatehumor #maliciouscompliance #coloredhair #pinkhair
@emuhleeebee Replying to @TeccaN9na Bestie, I don’t even have the WORDS #fyp #foryou #maliciouscompliance #corporate #corporatelife #corporatehumor #corporateamerica #pinkhair #coloredhair