Just because someone is older or more advanced in their career doesn’t mean they’re more professional. 

Professionalism is something that we all owe each other, but we might all have different definitions of it. We have differing degrees of what we allow ourselves to do and say in the workplace, and what we will tolerate from others. It also depends on the workplace. Maybe if you work a service industry job, you let yourself gossip with your coworkers. There is a camaraderie that comes with that type of position, and you might feel yourself being more casual. But when you’re a manager or a higher-up, there is a different level of expectation that comes with that. No matter what the job and what the position, though, there is a baseline level of respect with which we should all treat each other. That’s not what the employee in this story received. 

You should never make someone feel bad about their appearance, ever. Especially if you’re their boss at work. Most jobs have nothing to do with appearance, and it should be left out of the equation. We all have insecurities, just because of the world that we live in, and we don’t need other people pointing them out to us. It only makes us feel worse, and it’s usually about things out of our control. The old saying «if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,» applies to almost everything.