Tattoos in the work place.
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I suppose it's like a lot of things in life. If a company has rules that you don't like, don't work for them. But if you want that job bad enough, follow the rules. Sadly, life is not fair.
Edit: Hmmm. I bet I'm going to get shredded for this post.0 -
I work for VWGoA Chattanooga. We have people here running around with colored hair, gauges, nose rings, mohawks, you name it. I have a tat, but it is easily hidden with a long sleeve shirt. It covers most of the inside of my right forearm. I got it while in the Military. However, I am a Specialist/Technician, and will prob not move up any higher. No one I know of here above my grade has any ink,piercings,ect .....but I am comfy where I am at/like my job, so I am okay with that .....
Most of my friends have sleeves, or even more, along with piercings. And I am always amazed at the treatment they get because of it. By people that know nothing about them, and my friends are all good people, it is rediculous .....0 -
I got my first tattoo on my chest when I worked at my local council, a very 'all must wear suits and be prim and proper' place. But then, I also had blue hair and wore motorcycle boots to work. They didn't really care what I looked like, for some reason, so long as I didn't have my boobs spilling out.
But I know with other job interviews, I've gone with neutral coloured hair and clothes that covered my ink, and I take out my piercings, too, because it's sad but true: there are people against body mods, they will judge you on it, and there is nothing you can do about it, because it's still an accepted form of discrimination. I did a big presentation on this a while back, about how it's fine to discriminate against a current/potential employee for being 'alternative' and having ink, piercings, coloured hair etc, however, it's still discrimination, it's still negatively judging/treating someone because of who they are and what they look like. Tattoos are so commonplace now, it's ridiculous that people still view them so negatively.
Also, I had to fight my school when I was a teenager because I had a nose piercing that they tried to get me to remove, however, having my mother come in and explain as an Indian girl of age, it was traditional to get it done, they left me alone after that. Piercings can be cultural too, as can tattoos. My tattoos have meaning for me, are a part of me, and if people can't accept that then that is there problem, but what it comes down to is this: if I could get an awesome job by conforming and looking 'normal', I would, because that's how the world works, and after work I'll put the metal back in my face and bare my ink for the world to see.
Body mods do not affect character or capability to do your job well.0 -
Omg! Here in the uk some ( not all) are very weird about tattoos and PiercingS! I've got a lovely chest piece of flowers and butterflies , went for a job interview... He told me I'd b working along side children and i might scare them!!! Lmao! Their loss of course but that was a very bizarre thing to say lololol. Funnily enough I didn't get the job ????
I LOVE YOUR INK. Seriously. Butterflies are my thing. I'm getting the heart on my chest covered with one and another on the other side.0 -
I think it depends on who you are at my job and what you do. I work at an insurance company. We don't see the customers but occasionally vendors and big wigs come through. I can remember being sat down as a temp for the company and being unofficially lectured about how tattoo's that were obvious would impact your career there. I don't know how true it is but it stuck with me. I only have 1 but won't get any that I can't hide. The way the job market is these days why risk adding any negative factors to me. That and i almost have my masters in education so no tattoo's for teachers.0
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I'm in hairdressing and music so its not a problem for me as it's all about fashion/image.
I've had jobs that wouldn't let me show them and some that didn't care.
To me it's not worth getting in an arguement over, if an employer sees you as a lesser person because you have tattoos then they aren't worth working for.0 -
I work in a professional, white collar line of work. They only allow us to wear jeans on Fridays, so I am sure they wouldn't be too thrilled with tattoos showing, though there was a guy here for a while who had gauges in his ears. I have two tattoos, but they are covered up when I am wearing my work attire.0
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I work in a VERY conservative work environment! Although, we don't have a policy, I feel certain that a visable display of tattoos would be frowned upon. Only my closest co-workers have seen mine or know that I have them. My tattoos are in places that I can cover them up very easily.0
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I work in IT for the federal government and while there is a "dress" code, working in IT tends to have lots of leeway. Now as a supervisor I don't give a *kitten* what you look like or wear - either clothes, ink or metal. Can you program? are you reliable?
I don't have ink yet -- will be my reward when I hit the fifty pound mark0 -
I have quite a bit including a sleeve in progress. during winter i always wear long sleeves or hoodies because im always cold. As soon as the t-shirts come out the look on peoples faces are priceless! i always get " i didn't know you had tattoos?" and i always respond yeah i have 1 or 2 ( actually i have over 20) or the best one i get " you dont look like someone who would have tattoos" my response and what does someone look like who you think would have tattoos? thankfully my work policy is as long as they dont offend anyone wear and are tasteful then go for it!
In this day and age it still amazes me how people are so quick to judge based on tattoos . They assume people are criminals or drug users. Well i have quite a few and have never done a drug and have never even had a speeding ticket (knock on wood) bring on the ink!0 -
I suppose it's like a lot of things in life. If a company has rules that you don't like, don't work for them. But if you want that job bad enough, follow the rules. Sadly, life is not fair.
Edit: Hmmm. I bet I'm going to get shredded for this post.
No shredding from me. I agree.
I have a tattoo and personally I love them but I also enjoy having a professional career in a field where I know they are not looked upon kindly. So mine is in a place where it is always hidden. Life is about compromise. You don't want to compromise on showing ink, fine, but don't complain about the consequences, it's not like they're secret.
Anti discrimination laws should be for stuff people have no control over. I don't see why a company that is paying you shouldn't have the right to dictate your image (which becomes their image).0 -
I work corporate
It's not frowned upon but the judgement stares are enough to make me cover up...0 -
I worked at an upscale hotel chain for quite a few years. The women could have visible tattoos on their ankles and feet only. So I just wore a large ring to cover up the tattoo on my finger and the rest were hidden, except the one on my foot. It didn't really bother me. I now work at a very small office where they don't really care, it is very casual.0
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As far as I know visible tats are not against the rules here (major corporate office), BUT - I will tell you that I have never seen any manager, or above (director, vp, etc) with ANY visible piercing or tat.
Right or wrong, I will tell you that while I support your right to pierce or tat any part of YOUR body you wish, I don't always find looking at it pleasant - and therefore often find myself not giving any eye contact (or face contact) at all to some people in public jobs (clerks at stores, waiters, etc.) if I can't stomach to look at the artwork/piercings.
Not really any different than someone not advancing or being hired because of their physical appearance/weight. Unless an employer comes right out and says 'I'm not hiring you because you're fat, ugly, tattooed, pierced" etc.... you'd be hard pressed to prove any discrimination unfortunately.
That being said ... I look forward to my first tattoo soon ... a great Triathlon logo... and it will be on the back of my calf - not visible at work. http://pinterest.com/pin/161355599121374224/0 -
Ha Ha!! Guess I'll find out Monday. I have two tattoos already, but neither can be seen by anything I wear. I am going Saturday to get one on my wrist. I'll let ya know next week what kind of reaction, if and, that i get.0
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Oh, and the whole "You'll regret that when you're older" argument. I thought it made sense, before I had my tattoos, but I've come to realise that it doesn't. My tattoos are part of my body, like my scars, or my brown hair. I don't "regret" the scar on my wrist (broken arm). I won't regret being a brunette when my hair goes grey. I'm not going to regret having once been young when my skin in general goes wrinkly. I don't regret having pierced ears (they were done when I was a year old). I don't see why I'll regret my tattoos.
[/rant]0 -
I let my employees show their work. I don't care if you have tattoos or piercings, I have them, so I say flaunt them! Id rather they be proud of their art than hide it. Most interviews end up talking about eachother's tattoos lol. I brought one employee for her first one haha0
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I work at a car dealership and all tattoos have to be covered. A girl we hired for the front desk had to take out her nose piercing and wear 3/4 sleeves minimum all year to cover her arm band. Another girl had to wear her hair down to cover the tattoo on the back of her neck. A parts shipping/receiving guy had to wear full sleeves all year to cover up his sleeves and a mechanic had to wear a hat all year to cover his mohawk. As far as ear piercings, guys that are service advisors have to take them out, porters (car movers) can wear them as long as their tasteful but their chances of moving up in the dealership are next to nil if they keep them in. As for me, my tattoos are covered with a shirt just for working in places like this...0
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Don't feel so bad, as a male you have alot more liberties regarding personal appearance at the work place than in the past.
Many employers had dress codes and grooming codes. No hair below the ears, sideburns or fad beards such as goatees. No earings, or piercings. For the office, no jeans, mainly suits with ties or the companies blazers with logos. Many establishments would not allow you inside their doors if you had hair below your ears and did not follow dress codes.
For men, I believe we have gone through a period of liberation of how we look at work. Thank my rebellious generation for that lol !!!0 -
I have 2 tattoos one visible which is my wrist tattoo and the other one is on my neck which I can cover up with my hair or a shirt. I did have my nose pierced and it was a clear nose ring just like they asked but I was forced to take it out because it offended my manager's boss's. I got nothing but compliments on my nose ring. My thing is I will quit my job first before they make me cover up my tattoos. that's one thing that I refuse to do.0
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It's not about how a tattoo may affect your performance. It's about how a tattoo may affect your clients'/customers' perception of you and the company. Perception is reality. It's business. It's not personal.0
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tattoos in the workplace should be mandatory everywhere.
Just sayin'.0 -
My leg and shoulder tattoos are completely covered at work, but when I go for bike rides with the guys at lunch they are plainly visible.0
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No tattoo policy here and I work in broker services as a team administrator. Even though it's an office setting, I work with brokers, HR, and customers every day. I was just recently promoted. I started in client services 4 years ago and have built some pretty amazing relationships over the phone. I have local customers stop up to drop off their paperwork/claims to me and just to talk to me in person. None of them have ever looked twice at my tattoos.
When I was interviewing, the first question I always asked was if there was a tattoo policy. I didn't want to work for a place that had such out dated opinions on tattoos. This place didn't and I've been here since. I wear tank tops and skirts and no broker or executive has ever said anything about them.
In fact, in April of 2011, I was awarded Employee of the Quarter and the day they took the picture with our CEO/President, I had a tank top on. So in the newsletter that goes out to all the employees, brokers, and HR dept, I'm standing there with our CEO with tattoos showing. The people that I only have email/phone relationships with haven't changed their attitude about me. It doesn't effect my ability to do my work.0 -
I work for an engineering firm. For normal day-to-day operations, there's no problem with showing our tattoos. However, for formal business meetings with clients/customers, most of us try to wear long sleeves. If nothing else, we then don't have to worry if our customer is prejudiced against tattoos. I haven't yet found anyone to be, but better to be safe than sorry.0
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What I don't understand is companies will hire drugheads, people with no common sense or morals and people who are just unfit for work mentally, yet if you have a visible tattoo, it's obviously going to affect your performance.
lack of morals or common sense isnt usually something you can see from the outside, although one could easily argue having tattoos on your neck and face is an obvious lack of common sense.0 -
I suppose it's like a lot of things in life. If a company has rules that you don't like, don't work for them. But if you want that job bad enough, follow the rules. Sadly, life is not fair.
Edit: Hmmm. I bet I'm going to get shredded for this post.
I agree too. It's like anything else in life IMHO, if you want to fit into a certain culture, you have to act an appear a certain way. If you want to be a corporate executive, you not only need to get the education, experience, etc needed, you also need to network, gain respect and a name for yourself in order to move up the ladder. If you decide to get visible ink, you have to know that this will very verly likely be a detriment to reaching your dream because it's not an accepted part of the general corporate culture (I'm sure there are exceptions - vid game, social media companies etc). Does it suck that you can't get visible ink and still be a CEO of some financial company even though you're a whiz at it - sure! But that's just the way it is.
As another example, the company I work for is fairly cool with tats. A manager in my department has one on her upper back that is visible when she wears certain things. Mine is in the same area and I don't currently have any shirts that leave it exposed. One of my coworkers has one on the back of her neck but it's hidden most of the time by her long hair. None of us have ever heard anything negative about our ink, only curious or positive comments. Part of the reason behind this is that, although this is a corporate office, we pride ourselves on being casual and comfortable most of the time (as long as clients are visiting) as the founders wanted that kind of environment and we're trying to keep it strong 20 years in.
P.S. I do think things are getting more casual in nature in the corporate world because of companies like Google, Facebook, etc being successful and yet still having a very casual culture. Perhaps in time, even visible tats will be part of this. Hell, I noticed one of our client visitors looks more like a guy in a local rock band than an executive. He's young and intelligent and still looks professional but he's got a more modern relaxed look to him with longer hair and a backpack instead of a briefcase.0 -
I work in a corporate office but we are allowed to wear pajamas all day long, they see the employees being more productive being comfortable. That said I have a sleeve and a sock and my Chairman and President love that I flash my ink all the time I am SO lucky!!0
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Ive always had negative comments about showing mine, in all the places ive worked, so i mainly cover then up, except on dress down fridays where we can wear what we want. I judge it as being professional and respecting the place of work really, if anyone has a problem with it, or gives me a funny look in the corridor then thats their problem and narrowminded opinion. Nothing for me to concern myself with. As long as i do my job and i do it damned well which reflects in my 6 month and annual reviews, so the folks that have issues can go stick it! Hahaha
Btw i have a full chest peice, full sleeve, both calves are covered and lots of other little tattoos that are visible (knuckles and back of neck, behind ears) so im quite covered.0 -
Tattoos are not allowed to be visible at all at my job.. I work in a hospital and the only one you can see is a tattoo of the star of life (medical symbol) and I've been scolded about it.. We are not allowed to stretch our ears, we arent even allowed to wear more than one earring in each ear. I see people walking around with band-aids and tape covering their visible tattoos on a daily basis.. which to me, looks stupid! Why is someone wearing white medical tape up and down their arm when the tattoo is just a name? Its not going to upset anyone. I've gotten annoyed when I have to hear it for one of my tattoo showing or having "too many" earrings in meanwhile ive seen girls wear hoop earrings bigger than bangle bracelets and come to work covered in makeup with false eyelashes. I don't see what the difference is, to me that is unprofessional but thats allowed because its more mainstream I guess.0
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