i can remember when i worked i at the mall and not being able to wear my dyed hair up and regular jewellery was all but banned. never mind that needed to fill piercings in visible places. i remember feeling that none of those rules made any real sense (especially since most of the customers i was serving were younger and hipper than me or most of my co-workers), and that every employer just did it out of a sense of conforming to some unspoken rule without having reasons of their own.

lately i've noticed that more and more staff at more and more places are allowed to wear simple jewellery in their brow piercings, or are allowed to wear dyed hair on the job. this is a great thing and so effortless for companies to extend goodwill to their employees in this way. i want to thank all employers, particularly the corporate chains like superstore, for allowing their employees a little latitude in this respect. i love the fact that stupid rules that have nothing to do with job performance are finally being relaxed and that people who might not otherwise have been given the time of day when looking for employment finally have a chance to prove themselves as good workers without the personal prejudices of some in management dismissing them before they even do 5 minutes of work. i like a clean store and polite staff as much as the next person, but i don't want to be served by someone forced into being a stepford wife for the duration of their shift just because it makes management feel good.

i pledge to shop more wherever i see employees allowed to dress, wear their hair or present themselves in ways that make them more comfortable (particularly where uniforms are required clothing) while at work. it's about time people were recognized for how hard they work, not how well they fit into some pre-conceived idea of what a worker at company x should look like.