Tattoos in the Workplace: Leave an Impression

The corporate world may be loosening up the tie, but will white collar America ever loosen up enough to encompass studs and ink?  There might not be a choice.

As tattoos and body art become increasingly popular among the masses its not surprising to learn the percentage of bejeweled prospective candidates is also on the rise. But the fondness for this colorful freedom of expression isn’t necessarily felt across the board and especially not in the boardroom.  Although more and more qualified applicants are decorated with body art it is not necessarily considered appropriate or attractive business attire for an interview. 

But what you may find surprising to learn is many corporations currently do not have dress code policies in place about tattoos and body piercings.  So even though considered unprofessional attire they are technically not breaking the written etiquette rules of most corporate handbooks. 

Most corporate policies currently in place about employee appearances consider the impact it has on customers and on other business coworkers.   So as tattoos and body piercings become even more mainstream undoubtedly we will experience a trendy trend with corporate HR keeping a watchful eye on global culture changes, and revisions of policies and practices to keep pace.

What this means is perhaps at the end of the day it may ultimately all come down to hiring the best person, whom is most qualified to do the job and not the person whom looks best doing the job by covering their body art.  Wait a minute… isn’t that how hiring in corporate America already works?