Ask a Manager: Two Tales of Nudity

[minoanmiss]

Well, two tales of skimpy clothing, to compare and contrast.


2. Can I have a sumo wrestler calendar on my wall at work?

I’m a big fan of watching sumo wrestling! Can I put up a wall calendar of sumo wrestlers in my office at work? Sumo wrestlers don’t wear very much clothing…

I think a sumo wrestler calendar is fine. Sumo wrestling photos don’t tend to be sexualized (I mean, I’m sure someone sexualizes them, but that’s not the cultural connotation around them), and the skimpy clothing is more athletic uniform than anything else.

*_*_*

2. Should we not hire candidates with wet t-shirt contest photos online?

I’m hiring for the restaurant and bar at a golf course, and we recently have had two openings for servers. We’ve had trouble finding suitable candidates until recently, when two university students who are both friends applied and interviewed back to back. They are literally the perfect candidates who we believe have the skills to help our team.

Upon checking their online history, however, we found out that last year they were overseas at a hostel and they joined a wet t-shirt contest. The hostel and nightclub posted some images on their website, with them both showing off their butts in thongs and also removing their shirts entirely, showing their breasts to the crowd. They actually finished first and second in the contest, and kudos to them! Personally, I don’t have an issue with this and I see it as good fun. I don’t see how this would impact the reputation of our golf course in any way, as the customers will not know and, even if they did, it’s not like they would view this as something the golf course was then up too. I really don’t think it matters. Neither does the other hiring manager, but they are hesitant because they “just know if you find something like that, you are not supposed to hire them.”

Do you think we should just hire these wonderful women who seem to be the right fit for our job openings or do you think the fact that their butts and boobs happen to be on a hostel website from overseas matter and we should pass? I personally think in today’s times that this sort of thing is okay and I think the other manager is living 20 years ago still.

You should hire them. Tell the other manager that the advice she’s heard is outdated and it only ever applied to certain types of jobs anyway (like jobs like teaching, where public image has traditionally been a big concern). It never applied to the majority of jobs, and it has zero bearing on their ability to do the work you need done.

Comments

[mrissa]

Does the other hiring manager really think that no one who has been in a wet t-shirt contest should be hired for any job? ever? gosh.

[minoanmiss]

Clearly dirty sluts should starve to death.

[topaz_eyes]

There is a potential issue though. Not with hiring the students! But with certain entitled golf course patrons, who may find the wet t-shirt photos online, and decide the photos give them the right to harass the students over them. The golf course must be prepared to defend their employees. I'd be wondering if LW's colleague would be able/willing to stand up to asshole patrons on the students' behalf if an incident occurred at work.

(Just yesterday a well-known philanthropist in my city was sentenced in court, for assaulting a young female server who worked at a local golf course. Luckily the employer stood behind their employee throughout the ordeal. No wet t-shirts involved; he simply thought he had the right to follow her where she worked and kissed her.)

[green_grrl]

Fortunately, most service worker only have first name nametags, so they shouldn’t be googleable. But LW should definitely do them a solid and encourage them to contact the website owner to have them take their full names off.

[full_metal_ox]

Fortunately, most service worker only have first name nametags, so they shouldn’t be googleable.

And I’m given to understand that a fair number now go by pseudonyms for precisely that reason.

[full_metal_ox]

To LW #1: Just as long as you don’t pester plus-size (particularly Asian) colleagues about how you’d like to see them in a mawashi.

[conuly]

LW2 is talking about a server, that is, a waitress. Like, JFC, not to disparage servers, but if they're trying to enforce this level of standards on that level of job, what the hell is going on in our society.