Gen Y thinks tattoos, piercings and corporate culture mesh, do you?

"Gen Y thinks tattoos, piercings and corporate culture mesh, do you?", July 10 2009

Tattoos and piercings are typically a strike against most applicants when they look for work because it goes against the traditional corporate culture. However, many members of Gen Y have tattoos and some have piercings other than in their earlobes. With the work force changing to include more members of this generation, each workplace must have clearly defined rules and guidelines regarding tattoos and piercings. And some of these policies may need to change.

I have a tattoo and would like to get more eventually. I also have a few non-traditional piercings in my ears. I do not want to be a tattoo artist, musician, actor or artist (some of the few areas of work where tattoos and piercings are considered acceptable, or even desired). Like many of my peers, I wonder if a visible tattoo or piercing will affect my ability to obtain a job, and if opinions of tattoos and piercings vary in different industries.

I understand that a tattoo may be inappropriate in some places of work. For example, you may not want to see a kindergarten teacher with tattoos of pinup girls or guns on their arms. You would also not want to be served by a bank teller who had skull and crossbones on his hand and a teardrop tattoo under his eye. Here, the corporate culture dictates that visible tattoos such as these are inappropriate, and if an individual was to get one after being hired there is grounds for dismissal.

Most individuals who are heavily tattooed know their choice of body adornment may close the door to certain possibilities of employment. However, there is a large difference between one or two small tattoos that are hidden or can be covered by clothing and/or jewelery to an entire tattoo sleeve paired with tattoos on the neck.

Many employers have a rule against visible tattoos and this is due in part to stereotypes against tattoos from past decades. If a policy is exists or is developed about tattoos, it should not be judgmental towards tattoos or those who get them. The number of individuals who have tattoo and have them covered during working hours would surprise many employers and would also disprove any negative assumptions about tattoos that exist.

Tattoos and piercings are becoming a more common part of Western culture and, as a result, they’re becoming part of the workplace as well. Corporate culture needs to adapt and change with more members of Gen Y becoming employed and moving up the ranks in every organization.