A hair salon says it was told by a job center it couldn’t run an advertisement recruiting a “happy” stylist because the word is “discriminatory” against unhappy people. Alison Birch listed a job ad looking for a part-time qualified hairdresser at her AJ’s Unisex Hair Salon in Stroud, England, The position called for someone with five years’ experience of working in a salon, who is “confident in barbering as well as all aspects of hairdressing.” And the advertisement stated, “This is a busy, friendly, small salon, so only happy, friendly stylists need apply.”
A job like hairstylist involves one on one interactions with the public. Bedside manner is an important attribute at a job like this. If the hairstylist is always in a bad mood it is easy to imagine that turning off customers and them looking to take their business elsewhere. Nobody wants to sit still for a depressed person holding a sharp object near their head.
Happy is something that can be faked. We all have worked and we have all gone to our job in a bad mood. Those of us who continue to work know how to put on that fake smile and act sweetly to get through the day. Sure as soon as you are alone you curse up a storm or pulverize your stress ball but those around us are none the wiser.
Things that are discriminated against generally can’t be faked. You can’t fake your color although some do but that is a different story. You can’t really fake your body type. I mean Spanx will only do so much. I can wear lifts but stilts may be a bit cumbersome around the job place. Your sexual orientation should not come into play at the work place. Your religion should not come into play at the workplace. If you are disabled you can’t fake all of your limbs properly working. For eight hours a day you can fake being happy. Plenty of us do that.
The salon owner does not care if you are Grumpy, Bashful, Dopey, or any of the other dwarves when you are off the clock. On the clock put on that smile and make people believe you are Happy. Someone who can’t do that for a job is probably the type of person that when an acquaintance asks how you are instead of saying “fine” they instead tell you everything that is wrong with them. We don’t care. We are faking interest to be courteous in a civil society. We expect you to be courteous and fake having your shit together. This is how society works. We all pretend we are happy and we reveal our true miserable selves to those we fooled into actually caring about us.
So yeah, when I get my hair cut I want a “happy” stylist and in turn I will pretend that I am a “happy” client and you will cut my hair and get a nice tip. We will continue that ritual over many years so just rinse and repeat. Or reveal how truly miserable you are when you apply for a job because you are just being honest and in short order once again unemployed.
Am I happy this blog is finished? Who the “F” cares!!!! I will put on a smile and publish it and you will tell me how happy you were to read it and we will both move on with our day and save the misery for the three people in our life that gives a damn!