How do you feel tattoos affect employment?

Question

How do you feel tattoos affect employment?

Answer 1

I actually just started getting tattoos so I already had a job. My manager has noticed them but doesn't seem to mind them. I have one on my ankle and one on the right side of my chest. I usually will try to hide them but if I wear a skirt you can obviously see the one on my ankle and some shirts will also show the one on my chest. I would hope that in this day and age where tattoos are becoming commonplace, that people would try to be less judgmental and realize that a person who is tattooed doesn't mean they are of low character. I know my mom hates them but she is learning to accept that it's just a form of self- expression. I'm currently enrolled in makeup artistry school and I plan on making that my career so I have chosen a line of work that is a lot less picky about personal appearance. I do admit that some people who have tattoos and choose a more conservative or professional career (lawyer, doctor, etc...) would probably want to cover their artwork as it is not considered appropriate in some cases. But I generally think that a few tattoos here and there in most industries really shouldn't be looked down upon. It's no longer just the scary guys in jail who are getting them, but a lot of people that you may not expect so the negative stigma associated with them should go too.

Answer 2

At my previous job I worked with kids and there was a no visible tattoos policy. So, you'd see all this staff with duct tape on their arm or sweating it out in sleeves. The reason behind this was for one these were kids, monkey see monkey do. They see the tattoo and they want one and my job wanted to avoid as much confrontation as possible. Also, tattoos make a person anxious sometimes especially if it's something scary looking, no kid wants to see your artfully bleeding skull.



If you would consider this discrimination, telling you to cover them up, then the same could be said for tobacco users. They are told to smoke off campus to avoid the kids seeing them so they don't say "Hey that's cool I wanna smoke too."

Answer 3

I don't have tattoos and I'm not a fan of them. I worked in an office for many years before deciding to stay home with our kids (I still do part time work). I'm not judging you personally - but I do feel they are looked upon negatively by employers in most professions.



I hate to say it - but if I had candidates identical in every way apart from one had tattoos.. I would pick the un-tattooed one to hire. I'm really sorry and I feel bad about saying it. I've never had to make that choice luckily as everyone I've ever interviewed had no (visible) tattoos.

Answer 4

My mother has somewhere around 7 tattoos. She was a teenager living in Amsterdam in the early 80's so it was the right thing to do at the time, I guess. she hasn't got a tattoo in over 20 years, but once did get fired from a job that she was at for 5 years because she took her sweater off and someone saw one on her arm. It was bullshit but what do you do?



I have never really been discriminated against in the job market for having tattoos. The ones across my throat and temples are obviously visible, but I work blue collar jobs and play music. I imagine that an office wouldn't be too keen on me, which is why I don't work in ******* offices.

Answer 5

It depends where you would like to work.

For example, I worked for a mortgage company and we were allowed to wear whatever we wanted and have visible tattoos and/or piercings because the owners of the company believed that if we were comfortable in our environment, our performance would be better. In this case, it was absolutely true.



Currently, I work at a mortgage brokerage and I am not allowed to have visible tattoos. They let me keep my monroe in because they say it is "discreet" (it is just a tiny little gem).



All of my tattoos are "hidden" because I do not want them to affect my employment possibilities. Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that most office opportunities frown upon tattoos and piercings. I believe that this will one day change, as people with tattoos move up in the world. I also believe that the morals and views of society change often.



I like to use this analogy: less than 100 years ago, white people looked down upon African Americans and immigrants. While this is still occurring today (unfortunately), it is less frequent than before. Just like that, I believe tattoos will eventually become acceptable.

Answer 6

I personally think just like you can't judge a book by its cover you shouldn't judge a person by there "sleeves". My husband has tattoos and hes a hard working man he takes real good care of his responsibilities his tattoos do not effect his working ability. I do not have any tattoos myself just because im not keene on pain lol but I just believe having tattoos doesn't mean your dirty,on drugs,worthless, a convict, or anything discriminating in fact it shows just how unique an Individuel can be. To many people judge different looking individuals and I find it crazy to do so. I love someone who can show how unique they are and show off there individuality. Each person has a story.. with tattoos some people have there story to show and tell. And if someone wants to judge you by how many tattoos you have then they're just plan ignorant,, maybe people with tattoos should judge by how many tattoos they don't have? it doesn't make sense to do that so why would it be okay to judge someone with tattoos? nobody looks at it that way.

Answer 7

Depends on the job. I don't have any tatoos but I've seen friends of mine get turned away from work cuz they're inked up. Really, jobs w/ a lot of customer interaction w/ the general public will hesitate on hiring tatooed people. Then there are backroom jobs, alternative jobs (like managing a rest., music store, IT tech...) that will hire anyone who's qualified. Idk why it's different. Maybe the world just hasn't completely accepted body art yet (?)

Answer 8

My work place has a no visible tattoo policy in place, but two girls have visible tattoos and nothings happened to them.



I think if a person had full sleeves done it would effect their job prospects, I know my bfs step dad has been treated differently for having full sleeves done.

Answer 9

well im a person who never worried about what the person was wearing or what they looked like cause that don't get the job done people work off status when they hire you they say well that persons not wearing a suit hes lazy lol but you just got rid of a hard worker and hired a professional slacker in a suit, i think the issue is they feel that tattoos are a distraction and means your are not a adult.

Answer 10

I feel tattoos in the workplace are a biiiig gray area. If a surgeon is going to work on me and I see a pot leaf tattoo on his arm, I'm not going to be happy. Or if I see someone at their workplace with anything derogatory or inappropriate, I wouldn't want to be around them. The problem is, where do you draw the line as to what is and what is not acceptable? I have a mermaid tattoo and am getting my second tattoo soon (a quote that says "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.") and I'm pretty put out because they have to all be in hidden areas because I'm going to be a teacher. I wish I could get visible tattoos (say, on my forearm) but am afraid that I will not be able to get a job once I graduate college. My thinking is, if you're in doubt, DON'T get it in a visible place. I hope times will change though and teachers can have non-offensive visible tattoos.



Good question =]



OH! And some people do judge me for having a tattoo and for wanting more of them, and my best (guy) friend is covered in them and is definitely judged because of them even though he is the most straight-laced guy out there. It's sad "/