A Tattooed Workplace: Are You Ready for it?
With the growth in tattoos in the US, the stereotypes against tattoos are becoming outdated, especially in the workplace. The question remains, is society willing to step past this prejudice and realize that tattoos do not make people any different.
No Crop Photo / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA
https://www.aimseducation.edu/blog/tattoos-in-the-workplace-healthcare-jobs-appearance-policies/
“I was told that I was that I was a bad example to children”. These are the words of Kara Valentine, a woman who worked in an elementary school and possessed many visible tattoos. Valentine began her work in the winter, which was convenient in covering her tattoos due to the weather; however, when it got warm out, she wore more showing clothing. She was issued a statement telling her she must continue to cover all of her tattoos. She was taken aback, she explains, because the kids seem to be fond of the tattoos and they were not affecting her quality of work. The employers explanation was that the kids would get the wrong idea from Valentine, implying that getting tattoos was negative, and that she was not a good role model to the children. Valentine promptly decided that this form of disrespect on her character would not be accepted, and she decided to quit her job. Valentine, and others with visible tattoos, are judged as having a bad moral character, such as a connection to drugs, violence, or crime, because they have tattoos. These people can be just as qualified as another worker but be given the short end of things due to the biases of the employer.
My interest in exploring and trying to fight against this stereotype stems from, you guessed it, having tattoos of my own. My own tattoos, shown below, are both pretty easily hidden. Like, I am not going to show up to an interview or work without a shirt. However, the ironic part of this is I did in fact work as a lifeguard these past few summers. I had no problem with my employer or any patrons about my tattoo, at the time just having the tree, and if anything, people were keenly interested in asking me about it. A pool, however, is a different type of workplace compared to say the education or medical fields. People in these more high end workplaces represent the educated populous and the blue collar part of society. Society views these people as role models, and in the minds of many, role models are not supposed to be associated with a negative image. So when looking into this topic more deeply, you can imagine my surprise as to why this disparity in workplace code and standard exists.
Pictures of my own tattoos, both being under my shirt.
I have not, nor do I think I will, ever have to deal with bias for my tattoos from an employer. But I have had my own share of the stereotype popping up in my life. I am not going to lie, many people’s image of me is a clean-cut, preppy kid from Cincinnati. So when people see my tattoos, I usually get a pretty shocked reaction. I hear, “I would not expect that of you Jack” or “You are not the type to have tattoos”. I always ask why and never really get a straight response, but it gets me thinking. Society does not readily associate tattoos with the image of a normal, respected person. People’s image of me can change so quick from just seeing that I have these tattoos. Would my future employers gripe or think less of me if they knew?
Going further, where does this association come from, and why is it still ingrained in people today? Well, looking back on some history with tattoos, John A. Rush explains in his book, Spiritual Tattoo, that they have been around as early as the Neanderthals. Rush goes on to explain the first documented instance of tattoos is that of the mummies in ancient Egypt. These tattoos were used as either an homage to a goddess or an entrance into the religion. Either way, even from the start of documented tattoos, the association made with them is some entrance into a group or community.
Example of a tattoo involved with religion. Image from Tattoo Journal by Saul Mora
Winding forward to more recent history, before the past decade when tattoos have become more normalized, the main group of people that were getting tattoos were still using them as a mark or entrance into a community. The communities most thought of were gangs or cults, and thus the negative stereotype has its root. Yes, this may still be true and a use for tattoos, but in modern day with the increase in people getting tattoos, it is now become an expression of individualism rather than community. I know that each of my own tattoos have come out of an individual desire rather than any entrance into a community.
Gordon B. Forbes, in his work “College Students with Tattoos and Piercings”, discusses how the stereotype spills over into the professional world and where this misconception by people without tattoos comes from. He conducted a study, which consisted of self-reported surveys of people with and without tattoos, to try to find any tangible differences between the groups. He concluded that the only piece he was able to confirm was that people that do have tattoos exhibit higher risk taking behavior. Forbes leaves risk- taking behavior generally, but in the workplace, this could be thought of as changing normal routine and even possibly not following orders. If the boss wants a yes-man, this could be a problem in hiring someone that exhibit risk-taking behavior. However, Forbes says that making any conclusions about the connection of personality and tattoos is very loose due to the wide array of people that do have tattoos.
So if there is little to no backing to a difference in these people, then why are employers still hesitant about people with tattoos? The answer to this can be narrowed down to if the tattoos are visible or not. A person could cover their tattoos or have tattoos that are in non-visible places and an employer could have a completely different view point. Valentine’s story illustrates this situation where the employer changes their view of her when they see the tattoos. The view only changes if the tattoos are visible and this invalidates the stigma against tattoos because it is only a physical difference. However, the bias still exists in many forms, preventing people from being hired, moving up in the chain of command, or even being respected as a professional in their place of work.
There is a disparity also in what workplace environments are accepting of tattoos versus those that are not. More strict or conservative workplace environments stem from places thought of as the examples in society; the doctors, lawyers, business executives and such. Youtuber, Katrin Berndt, discusses the divide in workplaces in her video, “Visible Tattoos vs. Employment”, saying that different industries are more liberal about the discrimination, like in her case working in the media.
Berndt’s video on discussing tattoos in the workplace.
The crux of the video is Berndt explaining her personal experiences and the different scenarios in which people will see with tattoos in the workplace. She has never been turned away from a job or discriminated against and explains different realms of the workplace are more conscious of the tattoos. The disparity of workplaces goes back to the more conservative, white collar workplace environments and how people in these environments are supposed to be the “role models” of society. The associated stereotype, Berndt explains, therefore is what causes the employer to be strict, because role models in society are not supposed to be associated with the negative side of tattoos.
It is true that some workplaces are stricter on their policies regarding tattoos, but why is it these specific types of workplaces? A prime example of the type of workplace that does take tattoos more seriously is the medical field, specifically in hospitals. This is where Jef Teddington comes in, a hospital contract manager who was two sleeves of tattoos. He was told that these visible tattoos made him less credible and professional in this workplace environment. His employers said that these tattoos could “offend clientele” and that he needs to come off as professional in a hospital.
Teddington, showing the difference between his tattoos being covered up and shown.
Comparing this back to Berndt, she works in the media, which seems to have a more liberal, lax view on the tattoos. The disparity in workplace environments goes back to setting an example in society. People want the typical professionals in white collar jobs to be high in character to look up to and having tattoos mares this image due to people’s personal associations. Society does not want to change its set example of the model professional, and this sculpted image of a old, clean cut man in a suit and tie does not include any visible ink. These model citizens are the educated bunch that we associate with the medical, law, education, and business workplaces. The bias stems in these workplaces because society does not want to let anyone that is different into these spheres.
For me, I am interested in pursuing a career in the medical field, so the stereotype could directly impact me if I were to have visible tattoos. Being told that having tattoos makes me less credible or professional shocks me. Physical appearance, like with race or gender, has no effect on the merit of a person. The movement in today’s age is to let go of physical biases, and this should extend to looking at people with tattoos in no way different. I know that for me, having tattoos has not changed me or made me different from others in a tangible way beyond appearance. Therefore, I would hope that in the future employers would realize that visible, non visible, or nonexistent, tattoos should not lead to a stigma against an employee just like any other physical, unimportant difference shouldn’t either.