Stigmatized: Metal and Ink in the Workplace

            I remember the adrenaline blazing through my veins as I prepared for my interview at DSW several years ago. Not one hair was out of place and my clothes were ironed in to submission. I texted my boyfriend “Wish me luck!” and I put my key in the ignition. My phone pinged with a reply.

            “Good luck! Hey don’t forget to take off your nose ring.” It said.

            I snapped a hand up to my left nostril and sure enough a silver hoop was protruding ever so slightly around my nose. Cursing, I returned to my room and popped in a clear retainer.

            Fast forward a half hour later at my interview. “Do you have any questions?” my soon to be manager asked.

            “What’s your policy about piercings?” I asked nervously. “Can I wear my nose ring or is that against policy?”

            I’m sure many of us have had this mildly irritating dialogue with potential employers. Just as I had, you probably had to read a laundry list of dress code “do’s” and “don’ts” and a lot of new hires often lose out on great jobs due a tattoo or piercing. I find it strange that in this era of alleged open mindedness that companies are still operating like it’s the 1950’s. Think about how many millions of people have a tattoo or facial piercing. Yet still we have this social stigma surrounding them in a death grip.

            Now I’ve heard several arguments as to why employers are restrictive on the body art. I offer you an interesting series of counter arguments (in no particular order).

1) Tattoos/ Facial Piercings are distracting

            This one to me seems a tad bit juvenile. Are you truly suggesting that grown, “mature” adults cannot keep their concentration because the guy speaking in the conference room has a tattoo sleeve or a septum piercing? If everyone is as professional as they are supposed to be, they know they need to filter out distractions. Our days are loaded with them— everything in existence is a distraction. Perhaps there’s someone at work that is attractive enough to stop traffic, or maybe there’s a co-worker who always smells like strong cologne or garlic.

 Employers expect you to sit at your desk or work on the sales floor without covertly using your cellphone. They also expect you to stay focused on work no matter what stimuli is vying for your attention. In the end, an artistic display whether it is oil on canvas or ink on flesh should not be an obstacle in the workplace.

2) They could tarnish the company’s/organization’s image

            Obviously we have been conditioned to believe “image is everything” (otherwise why write this piece?), but if anything allowing your employees to showcase their body art proves how tolerant and diverse your company is. Now I can understand a company not wanting its employees to flaunt racist, nude, or offensive tattoos. I don’t think I would want to do business with someone who had white supremacist tattoos up and down their arms or on their neck. I also realize that this why the majority of companies mandate that employees must hide tattoos in obvious locations.
            It almost seems like people are still acting like too many piercings or tattoos automatically equals negative connotations (i.e. criminal background, gang affiliations etc.). You can behave in a horrifying manner regardless of appearances. The internet is swarming with negative reviews from so-called “professionals” behaving like fools or who are disrespectful.  For the majority of people, a lot of thought went into planning their tattoo and it typically carries deep personal meaning. It may not always be something terrible either.

3) They look “unprofessional” or impair your ability to work

            I can recall my parents frowning intensely when I got my nose pierced. They claimed no one want to hire someone with “holes in her face.” Unless you plan on working around heavy machinery, or some other job where health and safety were a concern, it shouldn’t be a problem. You would not want an eyebrow piercing in your filet mignon, would you?

            But what about people with face tattoos or other types of permanent body modifications? Part of the reason I prefer to have piercings is because should I suddenly decide not to wear them anymore, I just take off and let nature take over. But despite America being a tolerant nation, we forget that elsewhere tattoos and body modifications are indicative of a person’s culture. For example, in New Zealand Maori men and women traditionally tattooed their faces. In Africa, various tribes practice lip stretching and scarification (carving the skin so that raised bumps may form a pattern when healed).  Indian women are famous for having pierced noses. Suppose one of these people is a genius in their field and moves to America, are employers going to refuse a valuable asset simply because of a tattoo or an elaborate array of scars?

            Since the majority of us will most likely be working in an office I hardly think a few tattoos or face jewelry will interfere with my typing or organizational skills. Of course, it is also true that not every job requires employees to meet with clients directly in person.

Conclusions

            Now even though several companies are still strict on their views about tattoos and piercings there is hope. According to an article in Forbes, these days a lot of companies in many industries are more focused on your qualifications.  Typically blue-collar and more artistic jobs (ranging from designers to engineers to writers) have either extremely lax or no policy on how you look. Unfortunately, in the white-collar career sphere it’s hard to determine who appreciates true diversity and who is still trapped in an episode of Mad Men.

Keep in mind if you have ambitions of working abroad, several countries may place you under extreme scrutiny (or not even allow you to display them). Take Japan for instance, tattoos are associated with the criminal underworld, as the Yakuza are famous for their elaborate full body tats. However it’s worth mentioning that they are cleverly inked so that the tattoo never extends beyond where a dress shirt and pants can conceal it.

            I intend to die with my piercings and perhaps when I’m brave enough- get a tattoo. So I leave you with this: if society as a whole is becoming more comfortable with body art, why are some businesses clinging to the old stigma? How many young and intelligent college graduates are going to remain in stagnant career positions?  Are we really that shallow?