Sara Halilbasic
Mr. Jennings
Honors English III
October 17, 2013
Tattoos at the Workplace
Self-expression is a natural human need. As humans, we each have or our own individual interests and passions which we are enthusiastic about, and we enjoy showing and sharing those with others. From choice of clothing to hobbies such as painting or music, there is a wide variety of ways to express one’s self. One choice of expression which is popular among many people is by getting tattoos. With tattoos being a permanent choice, unless you have the hundreds or thousands of dollars it costs to get them removed, they usually hold a great amount of meaning to the person with the tattoos, or they at least thought they were good enough an idea to have tattooed on their body. The problem with choosing tattoos as a way to express yourself is that many companies hesitate or even decline to hire you because of them. People shouldn’t be declined a job based on the fact that they have tattoos because tattoos are a form of expression in which people are free to participate in if they wish.
Many people, when they think of tattoos, they think of unfriendly, unlikeable, troublesome people. Some even think of prison inmates, because tattoos gained a reputation a couple decades ago of being common amongst inmates. But tattoos have a much more extensive and interesting history. Tattoos have been common practice for thousands of years, not only for the last couple years or decades. One of the earliest known examples of a tattooed human was the five-thousand year old frozen body of a man known as “Ötzi the Ice Man”. His skin held 57 tattoos: a cross on the inside of his left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys, and a generous amount of parallel lines on his ankles. The placement of the tattoo marks implies that they might even have been applied for treatment of arthritis. More recent examples were found on Egyptians mummies from as far back as 2000 B.C (Lineberry). During the 1800s, a trend was started among the aristocracy, beginning with the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward the VII, when he received a Jerusalem cross on his arm (“a brief history”). With tattoos being common practice for thousands of years, it is difficult to understand how they have not yet become regularly accepted by many people, but most of all in the workplace. None of the people of nobility who received tattoos were looked down upon or judged any differently from before. None were dethroned because they suddenly were unfit for the title of prince or king. So why should it be any different for an ordinary person? Why should they be declined a job or promotion because of their tattoos?
A poll conducted in 2010 showed that 23% of Americans, including half of the people in their twenties, had at least one tattoo, with the numbers still growing (Hartwell-Walker), so it is not uncommon to come across someone with a tattoo throughout your day. It’s difficult enough as is to find a job in this economy, extremely for most of those in their twenties who have just graduated college but cannot find a job at all or one in which they aren’t underemployed, but add onto that the fact that many workplaces include a ban on tattoos in their dress codes, making it even more difficult. Thankfully, most people with tattoos are able to cover them, with long sleeves, pants, or maybe even makeup, or they have one in a spot which isn’t normally visible. It’s understandable that companies want to keep certain “images”, but that doesn’t make it okay for them to decline someone a job if they have tattoos which cannot be covered, just because they believe it makes the person look “unprofessional”. Plenty of jobs hire people who are unable to act professionally, which is obviously much worse than just not looking professional.
Whether a person has one tattoo or full sleeves, it surely doesn’t determine their personality or the type of employee they could be. I’ve met both genuinely pleasant and likeable people covered in tattoos, and rude and obnoxious people with not a single tattoo on their body. There are also a great amount of celebrities with more than one tattoo who aren’t seen as unprofessional because of them, with a few easily recognizable examples being Angelina Jolie, David Beckham, and Rihanna. They aren’t seen as unprofessional or immoral, at least by most normal people. They are even role models for a number of young people, many of which who couldn’t care less about their tattoos. Yet “normal” people can’t even get a simple job because of a tattoo. There has been one instance in which a woman, Ariel Rivera, applied for a job as a ride operator at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. She didn’t drink or do drugs, but she was declined the job because of a round biohazard symbol on her neck, which could have easily been covered by her hair (Kennedy). There was also another instance this year where a man was denied a job interview at Republic Airways Holdings Inc. because of his tattoos (IBJ Staff). Another man was unable to get a job as a security guard, though he was certainly qualified after working as a security guard since 1996, because of his tattoo. It is a reminder of his of his uncle’s Maori heritage, but nonetheless was told it would “upset some customers.” These people are prime examples of unfair judgment in the workplace, because there was simply no other reason for them to not be hired for these jobs, or at least given a fair chance, other than that they had tattoos.
With all this being said, however, I do believe there are certain limits that exist to which tattoos can be accepted, especially at the workplace. For most people, I don’t believe this is a problem, since I think that most tattoos should be acceptable, granted that they are appropriate. Artistic tattoos, and tattoos of quotes, animals, a loved one’s name, or other such harmless tattoos should certainly be accepted. On the other hand, tattoos of inappropriate or offensive images or language shouldn’t be acceptable. If a person has a job is a cashier in a grocery store, a nurse in a hospital, or other job which requires interaction with many people, there is a great chance those tattoos can be seen by children, and most parents don’t want their children to be exposed to such things too early. Since these types of images or words aren’t allowed on television, they shouldn’t be clearly visible to people who may be sensitive to them, such as children. That isn’t to say that the person should be denied a job, however. As long as it is possible to cover their tattoos, and it usually is, be it with clothing or even with makeup, the person should still be hired for the job, assuming they are qualified enough.
If tattoos were to continue to be seen as a symbol of unprofessionalism, then companies would certainly run out of a wide selection of people to hire when taken into account the growing number of people receiving tattoos. Gratefully, these days more companies are recognizing the fact that more people have tattoos, and are becoming more lenient on tattoos, although most will still require people to cover them. Still, a study done in 2011 showed that 31% of surveyed employers stated that having a tattoo is the top characteristic that would prevent them from promoting an employee (Hennessey). Another survey showed that 76% of respondents felt that having a tattoo would hurt a person’s chances at being hired for a job (Gouveia). With numbers like these, there is still a long way to go before tattoos are no longer seen as unprofessional or threatening, and finally stop being a determining factor for employers when looking for people to hire.
Works Cited
“a brief history of tattoos.” designboom . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html>.
Cooksey, Katie. “Security guard denied job because of tattoo.” SecurityInfoWatch.com. N.p., 5 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.securityinfowatch.com/news/10488336/security-guard-denied-job-because-of-tattoo>.
Gouveia, Aaron. “Survey: Tattoos Hurt Your Chances of Getting a Job.” Salary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://www.salary.com/tattoos-hurt-chances-getting-job/>.
Hartwell-Walker, Marie. “Thinking of Inking? The Possible Impact of Tattoos on Your Job Search.” PsychCentral. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://psychcentral.com/lib/thinking-of-inking-the-possible-impact-of-tattoos-on-your-job-search/00016482>.
Hennessey, Rachel. “Tattoos No Longer A Kiss Of Death In The Workplace.” Forbes. N.p., 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2013/02/27/having-a-tattoo-and-a-job/>.
IBJ Staff. “Man says Republic denied him interview because of tattoos.”IBJ.com. ePublishing, 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. http://www.ibj.com/man-says-republic-denied-him-interview-because-of-tattoos/PARAMS/article/39735>.
Kennedy, Sam. “Tattooed job-seekers may have tough time getting hired.” The Morning Call. N.p., 26 May 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://articles.mcall.com/2012-05-26/business/mc-job-seekers-with-tattoos-20120526_1_tattoo-removal-summer-job-job-market>.
Lineberry, Cate. “Tattoos.” Smithsonian.com. N.p., 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/tattoo.html>.