How to Get Your Boss to Let You Grow Your Hair Out

Get Your Boss to Let You Grow Your Hair Out

The most common barriers for men who wish to grow long hair are overcoming awkward stage hair, dealing with the naysayers, or a partner who isn’t down for the flow. All too often though, the chief barrier is employment. So how do you convince your boss to let you grow your hair out?

If the company you work for, or a company you’re seeking employment with, has a policy prohibiting long hair on men, or if the boss doesn’t like long hair, you might be forced to choose between your hair and a job.

A conflict.

For most people, your job is your livelihood, not something to be trifled with. But if there were an approach you could take that would give you the best chance at growing your hair out, with the blessing from your employer, would it be worth a try?

We thought so, which is why we penned this Dear Boss Letter. Stemming from this documented case where a young man secured his boss’ permission to grow his hair out, we’ve applied the same concepts in a letter format to be used by others.

It’s purpose is to ask for leniency in support of a good cause: growing to donate. The idea here is you take this letter, customize it as you see fit, and deliver it to your boss with a request to grow your hair out.

Specifically in this letter we are referencing The Great Cut, and if it works we must insist you follow-through with your commitment—we’ll be able to help with that.

Every company and every circumstance is different, so we can’t promise it will work for you. But with a graceful approach and a selfless purpose, what could it hurt to try? And what if it does work?? You’ll be mashing southbound on Mane Street halfway to Shoulder Alley.

The Letter

Here’s how to use it:

Copy and paste the text into a document or email.
Download as a pdf, customize the name, save, print, sign, scan, email, fax or however the hell you want to get it in your boss’ hands.

Either way we hope you’ll let us know: how did it go? How did you use the letter? How did your boss react? IS THE FLOW INTACT??!

If you are facing this issue but you decided not to try the letter, can you let us know why?

Without further introduction, Dear Boss...

Dear Boss,

I’m writing to ask for leniency with our company policy on long hair. My intent is to grow my hair out for a charity event aimed at breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest hair donation in history.

There are millions of children and young adults who can’t grow their own hair due to alopecia and other medical reasons, who face a loss of self-esteem, self-confidence, and social acceptance. This traumatic experience can impact a child’s entire life.

There are people doing something about this. A company called The Longhairs and their charity partners Children With Hair Loss are hosting an event called The Great Cut, where they are calling for 2,500 volunteers to donate their hair.

I would like to grow my hair to donate at this event. Given permission to grow my hair out:

I’ll keep my hair neat and tidy in the process, maintaining a presentable appearance at work.
I will represent our company with my participation in The Great Cut and report back on my experience.

I know we’re an organization that cares about people, and I hope to be an example of that by participating in The Great Cut. There are even opportunities for our company to sponsor this event if we want to do more.

May I have our company’s support? Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

__________________________________________