It's not unusual for bosses to ask their employees to comply with company rules. We all need to be on time, look professional and do a good job, no?
But have you ever encountered a situation where a boss or a manager asked you to wear makeup to perform your duties? I know, it sounds odd, right? But as it turns out, it does happen sometimes to women.
Do you prefer wearing makeup at work or not? Do you get any special treatment on those days that you do versus the days where you go in with a fresh face? I'd love to know about your experience.
And I'm going to share a few responses from various ladies. I'm curious to know how many of us have experienced pressure to look "pretty" at the office.
"I’m a flight attendant. I’m comfortable doing whatever but I’ve noticed I’m treated better by passengers when I wear makeup," one airline worker said on Reddit. Hmm, that's so interesting. Isn't it?
"Isn’t this obligatory for flight attendants to wear makeup? I’ve looked into this and the company I wanted to work for definitely required it. Also I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flight attendant with no makeup on while flying."
"I only wear makeup when I want to feel glam so, I don't wear a full face of makeup to work. I work in an office, I usually just use a teeny bit of mascara. Plus it saves SOOO much time in the morning not having to wear makeup."
"Time is why I gave up on makeup too! ... But there are, like, five people in my office and I'd much rather sleep for five more minutes!" this Redditor claimed.
"In my previous job (high-end hotel) it was in our contract to wear makeup. It was written saying something like, 'has to cover acne and wear a base of foundation matching skin tone alone with blush, eyeshadow in natural tones, eyeliner to neatly highlight eyes and mascara. Pink or red shaded lipstick.'"
Wow! These are such specific rules for requiring makeup. I wonder if men have to do the same?
I can attest to that. When I first started working, I didn't feel comfortable going without makeup. These days though, I don't care too much about it, hee-hee.
"I just started a job in a very male-dominated trade and at first was not bothering with makeup. After a few weeks, I started with very basic [makeup] ... and I don't feel gross when I see myself in the mirror now," one user said.
A lot of people judge others based on their appearance. So if you show up to work makeup-free and have skin issues, people could have unfair, negative assumptions about you. It's really sad.
For example, women who work in marketing may feel a certain pressure to fit in. And by fitting in, I mean, keeping up with the other employees who glam themselves up for work.
"I don't feel pressure to wear makeup usually. However, yesterday when I did wear makeup my coworker (60F) told me, 'You look so pretty today. Why don't you wear makeup more often?' It seemed kind of rude to me."
Yikes, that was bold of her coworker.
It might make you feel more polished and put together. At the same time, I don't think it should be mandated by anyone and left up to the individual. What's your take on it?
Is this something you feel the need to do at your job? If you do, let me know in the comments below. I would love to find out if you experienced people treating you differently on those no-makeup days.
