My friend Kris Dunn over at The HR Capitalist wrote an interesting post titled “The New Rules of Tattoos in the Workplace”. It’s a good read that talks about changing opinions about employees having visible tattoos. If you haven’t seen it, I’d suggest checking it out.
I sent his post out via Twitter and got some interesting comments. One was, “My rule: If I can see them, you ain’t getting hired.” Another person felt compelled to add an “Amen” to that statement.
It got me thinking. Has ink gone mainstream? Or do employers still subscribe to the “cover it up” philosophy? So let’s do a poll.
I’ll post the results in a couple of weeks. Thanks for taking part in the poll. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome.
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Tom says
I think it depends. In some work environments (a tattoo parlor for example) it would be perfectly acceptable to have a tat and maybe odd if you didn’t. In other environments, let’s say Walt Disney, it might be less so. Additionally, if the role is customer facing that would have some bearing.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Hi Tom. Thanks for the comment. I have to push back a little on this one. First, Disney is well-known for having one of the strictest dress codes in Corporate America. So we can all guess what their reply would be.
That being said, should all customer facing positions not have visible tats? That would include my car mechanic, a restaurant server or bartender, the person who handles my dry cleaning and the cashier at my grocery store. I don’t believe it matters.
Rob says
Ok so a very interesting discussion. It all boils down to the answer of one simple question, does having visible tattoos effect an employees capability of completing their role?
The answer for me is no. It all depends on the ability of the person in question and as a manager or someone performing recruitment, it is your role to judge the presented person on how suitable and capable they are, not whether they have visible ink.
Oh and FYI I have had a very very successful career in retail as both customer service and management and I have a full sleeve, ear plugs, lip piercing and scaffold piercing. So I am speaking from experience!!
Shaun Dunphy says
I don’t understand how tattoos are that different from drilling holes in your ears and wearing earrings. It has no effect on someone’s capability to do a job or be a high performing employee. If it is art, then I am for it, if it is offensive then it would concern me, e.g. Swear words or obscenity. I remember my father saying he would never hire a man with hair below his collar. Later in my career I remember interviewing a candidate who told me later that he had removed an ear stud in case it affected his chances. It is now 2013 and tattoos are part of society. Deal with it.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks so much for the comments. I agree – a tattoo doesn’t change an individual’s performance. I can see if the tattoo image could be deemed offensive by customers. But not the mere presence of a tat.
Catie Farrow says
Totally agree with you and Shaun, Sharlyn! In my view, having a tattoo doesn’t inherently affect one’s ability to provide great service, anymore than not having a tattoo makes you a great customer service rep. Of course, if the tattoo is offensive, that’s a different case!
Hayley says
I agree with Tom. It is completely dependent on your work environment. I am HR manager for a pub collective in London, which attracts creative professionals. When candidates have tattoos , as long as they are creative art (not the betty boop or sailor type) then it can be a huge positive, as I already know they creative and quirky individuals which reflect our target market nicely. Vice Versa, I used to work for a 5* hotel chain. visible tattoos were not acceptable, however I would hire anyone of my tattooed managers in a five star hotel, as performance wise they are on par or better than those employed in a five star environment.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for the comments. I think you both bring up good points. Having a tattoo doesn’t negatively impact performance any more than not having one increases it. And in some professions or industries, having a tattoo could been seen as a plus.
Rory C. Trotter Jr says
Like most things in life… it depends.
If an employee is in a client/customer facing role where tattoos can potentially adversely impact business for *any* reason then they aren’t going to fly.
If the presence of visible tattoo(s) are going to damage the brand equity of an employee’s firm in the eyes of consumers purchasing the product then the employee needs to be *really* exceptional to offset the lost in revenue.
…With that said, in how many industries today will an employee having a tattoo adversely impact business? I think this was at one point a bigger issue than it is now – tattoos are much more in fashion. At the same time, they are also a cyclical trend.
I *personally* have nothing against visible tats. On the other hand, I recognize that others don’t feel the same way, and I’d take that into consideration if interviewing a candidate with something visible.
Thanks for sharing this Sharlyn. Keep writing.
Best,
Rory
Brendan says
Thanks for this. I’m up to 5 now and considering mostly the location of #6 (Mrs. Bartender, you and Mr. Bartender got them in 2008? Did you stop at one? 🙂
All of mine are on my upper arms so I can cover them when essential, though I’m finding that I’m increasingly comfortable when my sleeves come up a bit. In social situations, honestly, it helps me because I’m on the quiet side and the ink prevents others from assuming that quiet = aloof = stuffy.
However, when I look at the pie chart, what I see is that half of the time, a visible tattoo can make a difference in a hiring decision. When I go for a job, I don’t want the outcome resting on the flip of a coin.
The other part of this is that OK, the perception of tattoos and those who have them has changed dramatically in recent years (I’m a school psychologist), but I’m not sure how that happened and I’m wary of the possibility of the change reversing.
I hope to stay in my current job for a long time, but what if, say, 10 years and probably a few more tattoos from now, I’m interviewing again? If I put the next one (“Semper Discendo”) on my wrist instead of my leg, do I lose that future job? How do I know that the odds will be better than a coin flip when I next dust off my resume?
I’m also aware of the term “job stopper” which refers to a tattoo that is exposed all of the time, especially on the neck or above. The term is used by tattoo artists themselves, usually in the context of “I don’t do job stoppers.”
Sharlyn Lauby says
Hi Brendan. Yep, we got tattoos in honor of our 20th anniversary. It took us almost a year to figure out what we wanted individually. They do not match but have common design elements. And a couple months to figure out where we wanted to have the work done.
We’ve talked about others…but haven’t done anything about it.
You bring up some excellent points for consideration. Although attitudes have changed and are changing still, a lot of negative perceptions persist. Ultimately, you have to decide if that tat is worth the possible risk of losing a good job offer. I hadn’t heard the term “job stopper” but the term says a lot. Thanks for sharing.
Brendan says
Thanks, Sharlyn.
As for “job stopper,” the term says most of it, but who uses it says the rest. If an artist, whose own job is and whose livelihood depends on tattoos, refuses to put them in certain locations because s/he knows that it’s a bad idea for the customer to have one there, even if it costs the artist money, that’s powerful.
Some folks have commented on whether or not a tattoo actually affects a candidates ability to perform the job. Unless the job is modeling, I don’t see how it could, directly, but if the tattoo creates the impression of unsuitability, that’s all that matters.
One of mine is a St. Brendan Cross, which is a Christian symbol exactly equal to any other variant of the Christian cross, but if you aren’t familiar with it and happened to see it briefly, in passing, and didn’t know the context (me), then you might misperceive it for a certain fascist symbol. If that ever happens then I have a problem.
I thought that my first would be my only and I didn’t believe the folks who said that one wouldn’t be enough. Once you break the seal, though…
Sharlyn Lauby says
Totally agree Brendan. It’s the same as when I (as a training consultant) tell a client the answer isn’t training.