Are Tattoos At The Workplace A Distraction?

Most companies’ customer services’ employers cannot have a visible tattoo. Many believe it is not a professional appearance for their employers. A recent study showed that 31 percent of the employers did not get a promotion due to having a visible tattoo. An ultimatum is made by the employees; either they wear long-sleeve to cover their tattoos on their arm or get the tattoos removed. Tattoo

To begin, Leanne Padowski has personal experience with this area. According to the article, "Our company's policy states that anyone who works in customer service cannot have a visible tattoo." Ms. Padowski deals first hand with the restrictions of visible tattoos, and therefore, this is a credible piece of evidence to support her argument. Mr. Johnson, on the other hand, is bias since

People must accept the fact that employees represent the public face of a company, so it is important that they follow the employer’s guidelines to respect their company image. Your tattoos may or may not be an issue to the employer but it all depends on the location and size. With visible body piercings, they can ask you to remove them when you’re at work. Although tattoos cannot be removed like piercings, your employer can request that visible tattoos be covered at work (Whickson). If the tattoo can be hidden, then it shouldn’t be burdensome for the employee to simply cover it up to comply with the guidelines. In a 2001 study done by Vault.com, a research and employment information services company that profiles U.S. companies, almost 60 percent of employers said they would be less likely to hire someone with visible tattoos or piercings (Dellavega). Consider yourself lucky if your tattoos can be covered, because having a job is better than being rejected due to visible body art. Some may feel that people with tattoos are treated differently, but the employer is avoiding discrimination by giving you a chance to conceal them, which is a way for them to accommodate tattooed employees.

A large number of businesses do not allow tattoos that are visible. Many also prohibit piercings, other than single earrings on women. Some industries even take their policies to the extreme of not allowing any tattoos that take up more than 25% of a body part, and if a pre-existing tattoo is too large or obscene, it must be removed (Powers). This even applies if a uniform can easily cover the tattooed area.

Three-fourths of businesses require employees to have no visible tattoos or piercings. A majority of companies agree that tattoos and piercings detract from a personal appearance and are irrevocable. In a recent article on Fox News a Starbucks’ employee faces firing for a small tattoo on the hand. Kayla told Fox News her managers informed her she has thirty days to begin a removal process or she would lose her job. Discrimination of professionals is very typical.

Tattoos were once and still are in some places considered heathen (uncultured, unsophisticated) behavior. As far back as ancient China tattoos were used as a symbol of protection or as an identifier, but they were not for the common working class. In traditional tribes of the native americans they signified an outsider that had earned the respect and trust of the tribe. Native Hawaiians and in extension the traditional Polynesians, used tattoos on their warriors to demonstrate power and skill; one of the most accomplished warriors in their history, half of his face and most his body was tattooed black as a form of war paint and high warrior status. Throughout history, dependent on the type of tattoo, it would either serve as an identifier of madhood, slavehood, or ranking.

Considering the Fox fashion News report there may be a number of possibilities as to people would actually like tattoos on their bodies or not. I am not very fond off tattoos and I am sure that if my Avalon or any other coworkers shows a tattoo to me, even though I will appreciate the other person on their face so that they do not feel bad, but deep in my heart I would really lose respect for the same person. I have seen some very weird kinds of tattoos and I feel real pity for those who ruin their skins for these useless tattoos. In my opinion tattoos are not a great way of conveying the message to the world, and in the professional field a person has to look at for himself so as to avoid any kind of conducts that would cause threat to their employment.

Tattoos are often times gang affiliated for members to show loyalty to the gang. Simply having a tattoo could potentially raise eyebrows from peers and employers.

People argue that tattoos should never be shown in a professional setting. Most places of employment even have a dress code that requires you to cover them while working. Employers, in some settings, say that tattoos would or could be offensive or obscene. It was hard to find any article that was against tattoos in the workplace. After a while of searching the internet and databases, I found an article titled “Tattoos in the Workplace: The Research Forbes Was Too Lazy To Do” by Annie Singer. Written on February 26, 2016 and updated February 26, 2017, Singer’s research found that “consumers showed a preference for non-tattooed front-line staff.” She also found that “visible tattoos had a predominantly negative effect on employment selection, driven by the hiring manager’s

While tattoos have become more and more acceptable over the years, the question still lies on whether tattoos or any other kind of body modifications in the workplace should be allowed. It's beyond easy to make cases showing the negative impacts of discrimination against tattoos and piercings in the workplace. Plastic surgery, drawing on your eyebrows, getting fake nails, and coloring your hair are also examples of body modifications. Though not everyone agrees with or thinks they’re beautiful, employees are not told to cover up these modifications. Tattoos and piercings are purely another form of beautification and what makes each person their own unique individual. Beauty is personal.

Although there is history that proves tattoos were used for many reasons, some people still fell into groups that are considered stereotypes. The stereotypes of people with tattoos were considered to be criminals, drug addicts, or habitual underachievers. There is somewhat of a statistical truth to that slander. Sadly when it came to people who had chosen to show their tattoos in public, the stereotype is all too real. That is no surprise though; people with tattoos are treated poorly by the majority. Traditionally, tattoo clientele was considered to be that of bikers, bad-boy personalities, and truckers; however all that seems to be changing. There is still the tough guy image to contend with. However, it is mostly just with the older population. Chris Weskamp told the Denver Business Journal

Although tattoos are popular, they can make it hard for a person to find a job.

CATO Corporation states in their employee handbook under what associates are to wear that, “No tattoos that may be considered offensive to our customers or other associates should be visible.” (CATO: The Cato Corporation, 2005) This is beginning to happen in many other companies, so that they may still be able to hire that qualified worker, without needing to dismiss that person because they have a visible tattoo. In 2010, a research poll found that 72% of those polled with tattoos had them in a place easily hidden. (Gasper, 2010) Also, there is a new was to have that tattoo, easily visible, but still not be able to see it. UV tattoos. UV Tattoos, or black light tattoos have been recently introduced into today’s tattoo market. It is applied the same as any other tattoo, it just has to be done under a blacklight in order for the tattoo artist to see his artwork in progress. The FDA has not yet given a 100 % ok of this UV ink to be safe because the phosphorus present in the ink can cause irritation to the skin, but some tattoo parlors are making organic versions and make UV tattoos

Unfortunately, in the business world, most executives do not believe there is such a thing as a tasteful tattoo and see them as a sign of rebellion. Some people may argue that tattoos in the workplace are inappropriate, unprofessional, and even distracting. Although tattoos are not respected by certain demographics and may

Tattoos and piercing have become increasingly more common over the years. Obvious issues within the workplace have surfaced. Some would argue that tattoos and piercings in the workplace are inappropriate,