New research from Salon Gold is prompting renewed calls for better boundaries across the industry.
Published:Work/life balance has emerged as the biggest challenge facing hair professionals, according to new research from Salon Gold.
The survey of 1,164 hair professionals found that 43.8% identified work/life balance as their biggest challenge, putting it significantly ahead of issues such as finding new clients (24.7%) and managing finances (13.3%).
For Hayley Jepson, aka The Resilient Hairdresser, the findings come as little surprise. Having worked as a hairdresser before experiencing burnout, Hayley eventually retrained as a psychotherapist and now combines her experience of both professions to support hairdressers with burnout and boundaries.
“I’ve lived this, the overworking, and so has every hairdresser I’ve ever known. To be honest, I’m just happy this is being talked about more openly,”
– Hayley.
Hayley says the industry’s long-standing association between being busy and being successful has contributed to a culture where overworking can become normalised.
“Our industry loves wearing the busy badge of honour with pride. We were always told busy equals successful. But I think this has developed into a culture where overworking has become normalised, even praised. And this is a problem for us.”
After 30 years as a hairdresser, Hayley made the decision to leave the profession and retrain as a psychotherapist. She now runs The Resilient Hairdresser, as well as the Burnout and Boundaries programme for hairdressers and consulting on mental health training for L’Oréal and Wella.
Her own experience led her to question who was supporting hairdressers as expectations on the profession continued to increase.
“I was watching more responsibility being put on hairdressers. I saw client expectations go through the roof. And all education seemed to be around how hairdressers could look after their clients ‘even more’. And I thought to myself, ‘Who’s looking after the hairdressers? Who’s making sure they have the time and energy to do all this?’”
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“Because that’s where this goes. When there is no work/life balance, this becomes burnout.”
Hayley believes that establishing clear boundaries is one of the most important steps hair professionals can take towards a healthier approach to work.
“The big question is, ‘How do we get work/life balance as hairdressers?’ The answer is boundaries.”
Rather than viewing boundaries as a barrier to good client relationships, Hayley argues that they can help protect the things that matter most outside work, which includes time with loved ones, financial wellbeing and peace of mind.
She also highlights the difficulty many hairdressers face when it comes to raising prices or saying no to clients they have built strong relationships with.
“When we discount our clients because they’re having a tough time, this means we need to work longer hours to make the money we need. When we’re stressed because our regular clients can’t get in with us because we’re too busy, we stay late because we feel bad.”
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Over time, these decisions can create a cycle where boundaries become increasingly difficult to maintain.
“Before you know it, you’ve created a business that is unmanageable and you have no idea where your personal life disappeared to.”
Hayley says the solution starts with making conscious changes to how a business operates, including committing to working hours and reviewing prices for long-standing clients who may not have received an increase for several years.
While conversations around burnout and mental health have become increasingly visible within the hair industry, Hayley believes there is still more work to do to challenge the culture of overworking.
“I welcome those surveys in our industry, so let’s keep these conversations about burnout and work/life balance out in the open, because this is the first step we need to make real change.”
Salon Gold says its standard Salon Insurance package includes 24-hour legal and crisis helplines, alongside a counselling helpline available to salon owners and members of their teams for mental health support.
The research highlights a wider issue for the industry: as salons and individuals continue to navigate client expectations, financial pressures and increasingly demanding working environments, creating a sustainable career cannot simply be about doing more.
For Hayley, learning to establish and maintain boundaries could be a crucial part of changing that culture.
Salon Gold is a specialist insurance provider for the hair and beauty industry, please visit www.salongold.co.uk for more info.
If you found this article helpful, try: Why Should We Care About Wellbeing.
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