Tattoos in the work place.

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  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    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.

    it might not be that they are prejudiced against tattoos, its just that tattoos are a very personal thing and when you are at work the client is not supposed to see you on a "personal" level, but on a professional level. They are supposed to only see the professional side of you, not your personal beliefs and choices as many tattoos tend to reflect.
    i have a few tattoos, so i'm not against tattoos per say. I just find it hard to take some one seriously who has tattoos all up and down their arms, neck and face.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
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    My previous job had issues with my mohawk and piercings. I didn't mind taking out the piercings but there was no way I was going to get my hair chopped just because they didn't like it.

    Luckily my current job have no issues with either so as long as I'm wearing a shirt/trousers and smart shoes I can get away with having my piercings in and my hair multi-coloured.

    The only downside to this is that they have stated if I wish to progress to the next level of my job I will have to change my appearance because it will be site visits, where as at the moment I'm office based all the time.

    What are you deciding to do with the downside?

    Well it's the natural progression of my work, in actual fact I'm getting it cut this evening. Which is going to be strange as I haven't had a "normal" hair cut in about 3 years now. If I was being told I had to do it then I don't think i would, but as it is I'm being encouraged by my boss and my director, who really want me to take the next step. They've made it clear that it's something I don't have to do if I don't want, so as it's my choice it's not so much of an issue.

    But I have ambitions to further myself, and the only way to do that is to have the chop.

    Once you own the place, you can change the policy & grow the hair back :laugh:

    Sadly, I work for the state government and a VERY conservative agency still run by the old guard. Even with my first tat, I planned to have a "real" job and placed them all accordingly. Not a d@mn thing anyone can do about my wedding ring though (it is also a tattoo). Good news is the old guard will be retired soon and us new kids will take over the world.
  • coffee_rocks
    coffee_rocks Posts: 275 Member
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    I work for a very large bank in their corporate offices. No set policy on ink, but nobody has any visible ink, nor do they have piercings beyond regular earrings, or a very subtle, small nose stud. Our branches are public facing, and staff need to look professional all the time.

    I'm sure a small wrist tattoo would be fine, but honestly, any visible ink for me would be a career limiting move, and I'm ok with that.
  • 37434958
    37434958 Posts: 457 Member
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    I dont have any tattoos,
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
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    I work in the action sports industry...

    if you don't have a tattoo - you pretty much don't really belong :)
  • corn63
    corn63 Posts: 1,580 Member
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    When I got my wrist tattoos, I never once thought that if I went to work for a place that would require me to cover up, I'd think badly upon the company or wonder why they had such archaic hiring practices or anything of the similar. I got them because that's where I wanted to put them. Tattoos are a choice. But they're not a choice that everybody has to tolerate. Especially not an employer. If you don't like it, don't work for them.
  • Seminolegirl97
    Seminolegirl97 Posts: 307 Member
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    I work for a private wealth management firm and have tattoo's on my feet. Others have them as well (on their feet ironically) and we are never told to cover them. Never do and we live in FL so we are always in dresses and open shoes. Our clients are pretty cool and don't care. Many clients have tattoo's themselves. Now, there are many banks/credit unions around town that make people cover them up. But were private so we have our own rules, which is great.

    We do have people here that have been asked to take out their facial piercings.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
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    I have one visible tattoo if I'm wearing slacks and short sleeves(wrist tattoo), more if I'm wearing a skirt without boots (ankle and calf ink).

    My employers (a hospital) have no published policy on body modification. I manage an administrative office and have been for (OMG, has it been THAT long???) 9 years. It wasn't until I pierced my nose 5 years ago that they freaked the h3ll out. The ink wasn't a problem, but boy howdy, that teensie stud sure was. It was at that point that I was told I would never be promoted any further (which I kinda of suspected, anyway, as I'd been gunning for a title change to manager since waaaay prior to the piercing). I kind of had to laugh when my boss said I'd committed professional suicide...I was like, "So all of my skills dribbled out that little hole in the side of my nose?"

    We laugh about it now, but I was kinda ticked off about it initially, since there wasn't (and still isn't) a policy saying we can't.
  • NyxariaMoon
    NyxariaMoon Posts: 121 Member
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    My workplace (hospital) requires tattoos and any piercings except ears to be covered. I think it is fairly ridiculous to see bandaids covering piercings, it makes them more noticeable. My tattoos are not visible unless I'm topless, and I usually wear a shirt to work, so I'm good.

    This. I'm a nurse and the last hospital I worked for did not allow any visible tattoos or piercings. I was told that I had to wear long socks to ensure that if I happened to cross my legs and my pants hiked up, no one could see my ankle tattoo. I'm pretty sure none of my patients or other staff were looking at my ankles! I was also told that if I wore a white top, I had to wear something under it to make sure that my back tattoo would not show. *sigh* Thank goodness I never wear white, so that was never an issue.

    Additionally, we had an OR tech who had a neck tattoo and they made him cover it with a 4x4 bandage. Not sure about you, but if I were a patient I'd much rather see a tattoo on someone who was going to be standing over me during surgery rather than someone with a huge bandage on their neck.

    I work for a software company now and no one cares about ink or piercings here. Yay!

    I understand being respectful, but honestly, when my patients have more ink and piercings than I or other staff members have, I can't see how my ankle tattoo would be offensive.
  • Shikonneko
    Shikonneko Posts: 187 Member
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    As another white collar, workin' for The Corporate Man person I have tattoos but I don't generally talk about them. They're on my back, so again I'd also have to be topless to really get a good look at them, but I *have* had days where I wore my hair up and a scoop-backed shirt that caused the ink to peek out. People have stopped me and asked to see them (yep, at work, "Can I look down your shirt?" :| ) and tell me that they look nice... which is probably sincere but nothing to write home about. I'm not client/customer facing, so I'm occasionally miffed that I can't have the hair/tattoos/piercings I want, but "If I want to get anywhere" blah blah always tends to crop up. Interestingly enough, one of our higher-ups in one of his presentations talked about one of the other departments within the company and described it as "a place that collectively has more piercings than socks. It's pretty wild." Obviously still impacting the bottom line positively... but I'm wondering if I can go work with them. :laugh:
  • doctorwhome
    doctorwhome Posts: 59
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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.

    ^^This. I have visible tattoos, and my company is pretty accepting of tattoos and piercings. However, we are expected to look professional in front of clients. I can't wear skirts or short sleeves when I'm visiting clients, and I'm ok with that. My boss thinks I'm a whack job on a personal level, but she also recognizes that I do my job well and trusts me in front of clients.
  • Annawhat
    Annawhat Posts: 7 Member
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  • piggydog
    piggydog Posts: 322
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    No I am not... I work in home health with generally older folks....


    That said unless its a photographer, artist, or some sort of other liberal career I don't wanna see piercings hanging out of your face and tattoos everywhere... It's professional to cover it up...
  • Annawhat
    Annawhat Posts: 7 Member
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    My tattoos are in places that are hidden by default, so the work thing has never come up for me. That's not WHY I got them in those places, just a side effect.

    I hate the body-policing "YOU MUST JUSTIFY YOUR BODY ART TO ME" attitude. Like, "oh, it's okay if it's your kids names/birthdays" or "it's okay if it's meaningful" or "it's okay if you had a really good (by my standards) reason for getting it", with the implication that your tattoos are not okay if they don't fit someone else's standards.

    The only reason you need to get a tattoo or other body mod is that you looked at it and something inside you went "YES, that is exactly how my body should look". You don't have to be able to explain it to yourself or anyone else, as long as you know that it's exactly what you want.

    Someone once described one of my tattoos as "the most pointless tattoo I've ever seen", purely because it's small and simple. It looks exactly how I want it to look, which begs the question; what did that guy think the point of a tattoo is/was?

    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]

    WELL SAID!! I could not have said it better myself. I have a few band tattoos that people tell me “what if you one day hate the band?” and it makes me laugh. I think of my tattoos as “time capsules.” They say memory is stronger when connected to pain or strong emotions, and I remember ever tattoo experience so vividly down to what I ate that day and wore. I hate when people say “what about when your older?” because I think it will remind me of being young and all the great memoires associated with that era of my life.

    As far as the tattoos in the work place, I only receive compliments but I often try to hide them anyways so no one can make judgments about me. I also plan on starting my sleeve and hiding it. Offices are ALWAYS cold anyways, so when will your shoulders really ever be exposed? Just my thoughts :D Nice thread and topic!!

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  • InnerConflict
    InnerConflict Posts: 1,592 Member
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    I work in the action sports industry...

    if you don't have a tattoo - you pretty much don't really belong :)

    Is there such a thing as a non action sport? :huh:
  • BikerGirlElaine
    BikerGirlElaine Posts: 1,631 Member
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    I'm a CPA, a tax accountant. I wouldn't let my tattoos show at work. But I am tattooed from my left shoulder to just above my right knee, and have some work in front as well. :wink: My rule has always been not to get them where they will show when I wear a business suit.

    As a lover of individual freedom and as a biker, I don't think tats/no tats is a big deal one way or the other.

    As a white collar worker and a little bit older person, I can see why it gets some people bent out of shape. Other people look at tats the way that I look at the falling-down pants thing.

    And TBH, I am OK with having to conform in order to have a good-paying job. That's how it's always been and that's how it'll always be.
  • InnerConflict
    InnerConflict Posts: 1,592 Member
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    I'm a CPA, a tax accountant. I wouldn't let my tattoos show at work. But I am tattooed from my left shoulder to just above my right knee, and have some work in front as well. :wink: My rule has always been not to get them where they will show when I wear a business suit.

    As a lover of individual freedom and as a biker, I don't think tats/no tats is a big deal one way or the other.

    As a white collar worker and a little bit older person, I can see why it gets some people bent out of shape. Other people look at tats the way that I look at the falling-down pants thing.

    And TBH, I am OK with having to conform in order to have a good-paying job. That's how it's always been and that's how it'll always be.

    I personally don't have any but have been working for the same large corporation for 20 years. Back when I started, you just didn't see them. I am sure I worked with people that had them and didn't know it. Now I see people in management with tats.

    The pants thing I will never find acceptable.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    There are some large U.S. employers that prohibit visible tattoos. I don't have any but was surprised to learn that. It's a generational thing. People my age just grew our hair long which was easier to change when the fashion changed. Tattoos don't bother me but I would get tired of having the same thing. It would be like not being able to change my shirt.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
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    I work in the action sports industry...

    if you don't have a tattoo - you pretty much don't really belong :)

    Is there such a thing as a non action sport? :huh:

    golf?
  • super_fast
    super_fast Posts: 63
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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]
    ooooh i hate the "you'll regret that when your older" comment!!! I myself have 13 tattoos! Some of them im like lol wooooow :noway: but REGRET.. NEVER, they are apart of me... of who i am. At one point in time, i WANTED that for one reason or another, i just look at them like a page out of my life book :drinker: I work in a "office" setting with great people and all of our work is done over the phone, we dress casual and just hang out. I've never been told to cover them up and they all are in very visible areas. I do have a habit of covering them up for an interview "just in case" because now a days you never know how people are going to judge you based on looks alone. Ive had my fair share of the older generation staring hard with unapproval but they're also ice breakers for some of the more understanding crowd as well. I love my ink more to come!!

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