It is harder to get a job if you have dreadlocks
Most work environments discourage dreadlocks, citing them as unclean, unprofessional, or unsafe for work.
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The Argument
Companies usually frown upon employees with dreadlocks due to their negative connotation of being unprofessional.[1]
In blue-collar jobs, dreadlocks can pose a safety hazard depending on hair length and the occupation. If a fireman were to have dreads, that would pose an extreme safety hazard. Stricter white-collar professions discourage dreadlocks due to deeming them unhygienic and associating them with marijuana.[2]
In the US, a woman with short, clean dreadlocks was given the choice of changing her hair or losing her new job. Her boss claimed that they tended to become messy and are not professional. The woman walked out of her job and decided to keep her dreads.[3] Dreadlocks get in the way of people's professional lives.
Counter arguments
Instead of forcing people to change their dreadlocks for work, companies should be more accepting of peoples' choices and personal expression.
Society and workplace culture have evolved enough to be accepting of atypical hairstyles.
Forming dreadlocks is a lengthy process, and most are able to wear them for years.
Forcing someone to brush out or cut off their dreadlocks renders a long and tedious process pointless and suppresses individual style.
Proponents
Premises
[P1] Companies think dreadlocks are unprofessional.
[P2] Dreadlocks can pose safety hazards in the workplace.
[P3] Therefore, white people should not wear dreadlocks.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P3] Companies should be more accepting of dreadlocks.