Tattoos And The Workplace

 

ARE TATTOOS REGARDED IN THE WORKPLACE?

Entrance to Lucky Bamboo Tattoo

The workplace can be an interesting environment, and some people in those places can have some interesting tattoos. Some employers are more accepting of visible tattoos than others. Fortunately for all, just in the last 10 years, that has changed quite a bit.

PLACES WHERE VISIBLE TATTOOS ARE STILL NOT GENERALLY OK

Any workplace that is deemed more "professional" are usually the culprits. This would include just about anyone that works in a bank or in finance. Accountants are another one that seems to not have too many people showing off their body art. Even mid to higher end card dealerships don't tend to have that many employees showing off their tattoos unless they are working in the mechanics area. 

Even some industries that aren't in the "professional" category have a tendency to not have a lot of visible tattoos. Daycare workers are one of those and elementary school teachers as well. It's not to say it's a definitive "no", but most don't really have many, if any, tattoos that can be seen. It could have something to do with the misguided mindset in some folks that people with tattoos are criminals or ones that can't be trusted with children. Either way, it's not very common for tattoos to be seen in these workplaces.

Another workplace and industry where visible tattoos aren't too common is in real estate. You don't tend to see too many people selling houses with tattoos showing. That doesn't say it doesn't happen, it's just rare to see. Again, it probably stems from trust issue people have based off of predisposition and backwards thinking.

It may come to a surprise, but visible tattoos are also not usually ok with quite a few in the military. Even though modern tattoos in the US can be attributed in its founding to our Navy men coming home with fresh tattoos, visible tattoos are still a no-no with most. It's pretty unfortunate if you take into consideration of the long history of tattoos and the military. (See our article about this very subject by clicking the link below!)

Tattoos In The Military

WORKPLACES WHERE TATTOOS ARE SOMEWHAT ACCEPTABLE

Most retail workplace environments, up until recently, used to stray away from hiring employees with visible ink. Thankfully, that is no more. Most retail stores don't seem to have a problem with this any more, with the exception to face and neck tattoos. They're still a job killer for many. It's quite common to go into just about any type of business these days and see employees, even management, showing their tattoos. With that said, there are some retailers out there that still prescribe to the closed-mind mindset to their own detriment. 

Educators, in most cases, are also generally somewhat accepted to have tattoos. It's not uncommon to see teachers in junior high and up to university professors having visible art. It seems society is less concerned about kids in junior high or high school being susceptible to influence from their teachers tattoos than they do with the younger kids. 

Surprisingly, less people seem to care about politicians having tattoos over their bankers. There are quite a few politicians out there that have known tattoos, and it's never really been brought up as a negative, which of course it isn't. Still, one would expect some of the soapbox town-cryers to be freaking out about American politicians having tattoos. Luckily, nobody seems to mind at all. 

TATTOOS ARE USUALLY NO ISSUE IN THESE WORKPLACES

There's going to be some obvious ones here. If you work in that tattoo industry, music and the arts, it's almost expected for you to have tattoos, let alone if they are accepted. 

If you work in any industrial setting, it's generally not a problem at all. Factory workers, car makers, steel workers, etc. A workplace like one of these don't seem to care at all. You're not generally working with the public, so it's a none-argument. 

Food service workers, even waiters and waitresses are deemed fine with having tattoos, with the only exception seeming to be posh, upper-class restaurants. Most reasonable people don't really care if their food server has tattoos. 

Tradesmen, such as plumbers, roofers, construction, electrical and so forth aren't shy about having tattoos that can be seen, and they shouldn't be. As long as they do a good job, who cares? That goes for all jobs, really. 

First responders, such as police, firemen and EMT's can very commonly be seen with tattoos. 

AS SOCIETY MOVES FORWARD...

As time goes by, more and more people are coming to realize that having a tattoo is no big deal. In fact, people with tattoos should be viewed as MORE employable. They are people that can sit still for long periods of time while being jabbed with needles, and they paid good money for that experience.