Tattoos/Piercings and employment

Chinman3000 · Sep 22, 2014

There is a follow up artical to one on the BBC a few weeks back about people with tattoos getting a hard time of it when it comes to their employers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29211526

My thoughts are this - If you are going to get tattoos/piercings, go for it. If thats how you want to waste your money go crazy. But dont have the ignorence to think its not going to affect you employment options in the future.

I feel little sympathy for these stories. Waaa Waaa Waaa I didnt get promotion / a job ect because I decided to pay someone to put a load of black sh1t under my skin and make me look 'different' and 'cool'.

Thoughts?

Seasidesage · Sep 22, 2014

Chinman3000 said:
There is a follow up artical to one on the BBC a few weeks back about people with tattoos getting a hard time of it when it comes to their employers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29211526

My thoughts are this - If you are going to get tattoos/piercings, go for it. If thats how you want to waste your money go crazy. But dont have the ignorence to think its not going to affect you employment options in the future.

I feel little sympathy for these stories. Waaa Waaa Waaa I didnt get promotion / a job ect because I decided to pay someone to put a load of black sh1t under my skin and make me look 'different' and 'cool'.

Thoughts?

My thoughts are that you are right...

Beach Hut · Sep 22, 2014

It is perfectly easy to have a tattoo in a place that is non-visible at work

Herr Tubthumper · Sep 22, 2014

I keep my Ed Miliband tat covered at work.

Billy the Fish · Sep 22, 2014

Chinman3000 said:
I feel little sympathy for these stories. Waaa Waaa Waaa I didnt get promotion / a job ect because I decided to pay someone to put a load of black sh1t under my skin and make me look 'different' and 'cool'.

Thoughts?

I think you sound like a bigot.

Tatoos are so common these days I think these views will fade in time. It's a shame people still look to judges others superficially. Character, personality and actions are much better things to measure a person by.

daveinprague · Sep 22, 2014

Was chatting with a barmaid the other night who is covered... it seems funny that when I was in the RN, it tended to be Forces, and bikers who had tatts....and you would probably not take a tattoo'd girl home to meet your family... now it seems that its women who have gone for it...
Work wise...well, some places will employ you...some definitely wont.

BBassic · Sep 22, 2014

I personally have most of my arms covered. I have them to neither look 'cool' or to be 'different'. I have them because I wanted them.

If I was offered a job on the proviso that I cover myself up I'd tell them to shove it; why would I want to work for people who have judged me on my appearance before seeing the quality of my work?

Thus far, my employers have been open-minded and fair people and I've never had a problem.

Wilko · Sep 22, 2014

Chinman3000 said:
There is a follow up artical to one on the BBC a few weeks back about people with tattoos getting a hard time of it when it comes to their employers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29211526

My thoughts are this - If you are going to get tattoos/piercings, go for it. If thats how you want to waste your money go crazy. But dont have the ignorence to think its not going to affect you employment options in the future.

I feel little sympathy for these stories. Waaa Waaa Waaa I didnt get promotion / a job ect because I decided to pay someone to put a load of black sh1t under my skin and make me look 'different' and 'cool'.

Thoughts?

Disagree. You should be judged on your ability to do a job, not someone else's subjective interpretation of how to look.

StonehamPark · Sep 22, 2014

BBassic said:
I personally have most of my arms covered. I have them to neither look 'cool' or to be 'different'. I have them because I wanted them.

If I was offered a job on the proviso that I cover myself up I'd tell them to shove it; why would I want to work for people who have judged me on my appearance before seeing the quality of my work?

Thus far, my employers have been open-minded and fair people and I've never had a problem.

Same here.

I do occasionally feel awkward/embarrassed in a senior meeting though if I'm without a long-sleeved shirt.

Blues Rock DJ · Sep 22, 2014

Chinman3000 said:
There is a follow up artical to one on the BBC a few weeks back about people with tattoos getting a hard time of it when it comes to their employers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29211526

My thoughts are this - If you are going to get tattoos/piercings, go for it. If thats how you want to waste your money go crazy. But dont have the ignorence to think its not going to affect you employment options in the future.

I feel little sympathy for these stories. Waaa Waaa Waaa I didnt get promotion / a job ect because I decided to pay someone to put a load of black sh1t under my skin and make me look 'different' and 'cool'.

Thoughts?

suppose employers can afford to be picky nowadays.

8ace · Sep 22, 2014

What about if your job is a Pirate

BBassic · Sep 22, 2014

StonehamPark said:
Same here.

I do occasionally feel awkward/embarrassed in a senior meeting though if I'm without a long-sleeved shirt.

Ditto! I find myself wondering though whether anyone else in the meeting is inked and they've covered it up!

chimneys · Sep 22, 2014

Blues Rock DJ said:
suppose employers can afford to be picky nowadays.

I'm not sure they can, its tattooist!

CheeseRolls · Sep 22, 2014

Billy the Fish said:
I think you sound like a bigot.

Tatoos are so common these days I think these views will fade in time. It's a shame people still look to judges others superficially. Character, personality and actions are much better things to measure a person by.

Bigots exist and you have to deal with it.

You either get on with it and make your own way in life, or don't get plastered in tattoos and piercings.

Either way is fine by me, but call me an inkist, I just don't want to listen to people bleating about how they are being held back, because others don't see the real person.

BBassic · Sep 22, 2014

CheeseRolls said:
Bigots exist and you have to deal with it.

You either get on with it and make your own way in life, or don't get plastered in tattoos and piercings.

Either way is fine by me, but call me an inkist, I just don't want to listen to people bleating about how they are being held back, because others don't see the real person.

Yes, let's just continue letting bigots be bigots. Let's not challenge their views in an attempt at change.

For what it's worth, I don't class people against tattoos as bigoted. It is very much a personal choice.

upthealbion1970 · Sep 22, 2014

I've got Albion tats down both forearms. I have been looking for work for 12 days and had 2 job offers today, neither interviewers had an issue with my tats. Both jobs in the motor trade dealing with the public with my tats visible.

:shrug:

midnight_rendezvous · Sep 22, 2014

I think the OP is incredibly ignorant. Unless you work with children what does it matter that you have a tattoo(s)? Not having tattoos doesn't make you any better at your job. As an employee you should be judged on the quality of your work not on how you look.

Westdene Seagull · Sep 22, 2014

Chinman3000 said:
There is a follow up artical to one on the BBC a few weeks back about people with tattoos getting a hard time of it when it comes to their employers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29211526

My thoughts are this - If you are going to get tattoos/piercings, go for it. If thats how you want to waste your money go crazy. But dont have the ignorence to think its not going to affect you employment options in the future.

I feel little sympathy for these stories. Waaa Waaa Waaa I didnt get promotion / a job ect because I decided to pay someone to put a load of black sh1t under my skin and make me look 'different' and 'cool'.

Thoughts?

Please detail how having some ink on your skin prevents anyone doing their job properly and well ? Same kind of attitude of managers back in the 70s / 80s who didn't like beards or insisted you had to wear a tie.

BBassic · Sep 22, 2014

midnight_rendezvous said:
I think the OP is incredibly ignorant. Unless you work with children what does it matter that you have a tattoo(s)? Not having tattoos doesn't make you any better at your job. As an employee you should be judged on the quality of your work not on how you look.

Not to be picky but :"Unless you work with children" does not tally up with "As an employee you should be judged on the quality of your work not on how you look."

soistes · Sep 22, 2014

I'm not sure whether it's just bigotry and discrimination.

I think the key questions are:
A) does being covered in tattoos tell me anything about the person?

B) is what it tells me relevant to their ability to do the job?

I think it does tell me something about their judgement and insight, and particularly their ability to look forward over a longish period and know whether they'll still be happy with an irreversible decision they made in their youth. I know personally several otherwise highly intelligent people who deeply regret the lapse in judgement that led them to get large visible tattoos and they now wish they hadn't.
I can imagine that there are some (probably quite senior) jobs in which that kind of lack of foresight and judgement might be seen as a negative.
In many other jobs it's clearly irrelevant- the bloke who serves me coffee every morning, for example. I might think (I do actually) that he looks a total plonker, but I couldn't argue that it should affect his employment chances.

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