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Tattoos and Work Environments

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Gabby29, Dec 28, 2014.

  1. Gabby29

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    I love tattoos. I support them, they're beautiful, they give personality, and they can easily tell an amazing story. I'm bringing up this topic because the waitress who served my friends and I had a gorgeous tattoo of a rose on her neck however a friend of mine thought it was unprofessional and the waitress shouldn't have her job. I understand the discretion with tattoos and work environments but in all honesty tattoos don't make or define a person on the outsid, they can symbolize but not entirely tell who or what a person is. I only have four and plan on getting a whole left sleeve and tons more. I'll more likely write a detailed blog about this topic later today.
     
  2. Yosia

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    Tattoos and other body modifications should not affect anything in your life other than how you look. It annoys me how so many people think it's wrong to employ people with body modifications, like literally, you could have the best person in the world at that job but he has a tattoo which means a lot to him, so they will have to employ someone else. How do people even think like that?!

    Another example of this is in professions such as teaching. I can see the arguments on why it is better to have someone more professional looking, however it is the standard of teaching that the employer should look for, so why is this never the case?! Also, the government and relevant people go on about how we should be teaching children to be and express themselves, well what is the point of expressing yourself if you are just going to have it ripped away from you? I have made a promise to myself that I will never change who I am just to get a job, especially when I want to teach children not just about academics, but about life, and why diversity among people is beautiful.


    Sorry for sort of stealing your thread to make my own rant. :lol:
     
  3. Gabby29

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    no by all means, I want to hear everything you all have to say hah. This particular subject has had me thinking for a while so I really want to hear everyone's thoughts and feelings and will blog about this later on.
     
  4. YuriBunny

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    I really don't get why someone shouldn't have their job just because of a tattoo. That seems so silly to me. It kinda reminds me of how in some schools they don't let you dye your hair; that I've also found very strange and questionable... :confused:
     
  5. juliegt6

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    At my work, it's business professional, business casual and hourly folk in uniforms, as far as manner of dress and presentation. Visible tattoos other than military or identification/institutional tattoos are strictly forbidden. Even the guys I know with unit tattoos (older crowd with numerous Vietnam vets) usually just cover them with long sleeves but some days in the summer it's just hot.

    For a waitress at most places, who cares?

    For the op, sleeves are ok but be able to cover them with short sleeves if you want to work in a lot of environments. It's not that you aren't allowed to have tattoos, it's that an employer is most definitely allowed to not hire you, force you to cover them, or fire you.
     
  6. CJliving

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    All I've ever heard or been told about working in Japan is that tattoos are viewed very badly. Even at public beaches or theme parks, the rules state that anyone with a visible tattoo will be asked to leave. My contract with my company forbids showing my tattoos in public ever. And at work, I do make sure my tattoos are covered, although outside of that I don't care much.

    The thing is, no one else really cares. I went swimming with my elementary school and the bandage fell off my foot. When I told the teacher I can't swim anymore because I have a tattoo she looked at me like I was crazy and told me not to worry. All my students at that school saw my tattoo, none of them have even mentioned it.

    So if it's not a big deal to a bunch of kids who have been told all 9-10 years of their life that only gangsters have tattoos, why should it matter if your waiter or accountant does?
     
  7. DMark69

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    I know the policy of the US Military is that you cannot have a tattoo that shows when wearing dress uniform (think suit and tie). The reason is to promote a professional appearance. If I ever decide to get tattoos I will conform to that, because then the employer will not see them until at least after the interview and you are already hired. I can understand that in positions that require professionalism, like sales, and to a degree teaching. If it is tasteful and can be covered you are fine, but some tattoos would be inappropriate in some environments.
     
  8. Quiet Raven

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    This is pretty much what I was going to say. And I couldn't have said it better myself.

    Seriously, unless the tattoo is of a gory or pornagraphic image, or saying "Fuck you" or something along those lines. Why should it matter? What is wrong with an image of a flower on your body or something like that?

    Things like this just make me so angry.
     
  9. mobrien1993

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    I would never want one but I think they are fine as long as you can cover them up during work or any professional events. Since she's a waitress it's not too big of deal. However with having something like that she is kind of limiting some jobs she could possibly get in the future. Where i work you're not allowed to have any visible tattoos or piercings.
     
  10. TigerInATophat

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    This reminds of what happened a while back when the retailer HMV implemented an 'appearance policy' instructing staff that all body art should be kept covered, thus losing them the last bit of street-cred they had left and probably losing sales in the process, seeing as they are primarily a MUSIC focused shop but it didn't occur to the management that many of their customers might also be fond of a few tats and piercings themselves.

    I don't see how it would affect a person's ability to do their job in most cases to be honest. I mean I could understand if the waitress had a tattoo that read: 'Keep eating you greedy fuckers' then the management might request her to cover it up when when serving customers lol. But a rose tattoo sounds completely inoffensive.

    What I find quite amusing actually is you get these places that wouldn't hire people with visible body art or who ask them to keep it covered but at the same time other members of staff might have things like several layers of fake tan, hair extensions or false nails for example and that is considered fine because it's more mainstream. I don't personally have any issue with someone wearing that stuff to work, but I can see practical reasons why it might cause issues. Like say you are at a clothing store and wish to buy something, you might be less likely to go to the checkout assistant wearing fake tan on the off chance that some of it might smudge from their hands on to your brand new purchase. Yet the management might be more likely to put that person in such a position to present a more 'acceptable' image to the customers, where as the staff with tattoos would end up in the back rooms or not employed there at all.
     
  11. 741852963

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    Yup, it was a ludicrous decision. It used to be a record shop for Pete's sake, full of hippies and rockers with dreads, piercings and tattoos! People today go in there for cheap DVDs and CDs, they aren't expecting a man in a tux to serve them!

    And the way HMVs going it needs all the custom it can get, they shouldn't be annoying the very people who have kept the business afloat!

    To be honest in lower paid jobs I don't see why it matters. As long as the tattoos are discreet and non-offensive leave it be.

    I think perhaps in food preparation larger more detailed tattoos (or faded ones) might be seen as "dirty" by some members of the public (just based on a mis-thinking that the skin is "stained" or unwashed) so it would be wise for them to be covered in that case. Piercings as well, might attract similar feelings regardless of whether they are sterile or not.

    Interestingly you've mentioned fake tan. I think far more than the former examples, excessive fake tan or makeup definitely leaves an impression of "dirtiness" with me - I just imagine it getting everywhere. If I had the choice to be served food by someone with a tattoo or someone with loads of fake tan on I'd go for the person with the tattoo any day of the week!
     
  12. phoenix89

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    I have one on my upper arm. The only way that it can be seen is if I am wearing a tank top. I purposely got it in a place where I can easily hide it if need be.
     
  13. TigerInATophat

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    This is what I was getting at. From a customer's point of view, something that could smudge can be off-putting and potentially lose business for the company, but the management often seem to be more concerned with stuff seen as in some way less socially acceptable like body art, lest it should offend the morals of some terribly well-to-do upper class sensibilities!
    I believe some places serving food will have rules about things that could potentially fall off, like piercings and fake nails, which seems sensible enough for everyone concerned (I don't want to find someone's nose ring or acrylic talon in my sandwich anymore than the person originally wearing it wishes to lose said item lol).
     
  14. photoguy93

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    I work in healthcare - in my nursing program, even, they ban nose rings, most piercings, etc.

    The only reason I see fit for banning tattoos is not everyone has taste. I've seen some really pretty tattoos. I work with a guy who has some really interesting and detailed tattoos. But not everyone has gone to those links. I think it would be incredibly difficult to say "Ehh, yours is cool...but his? Ewww. No."

    On the flip side, I do understand what a lot of you are saying. There are worse things. Personally, I think a lot of hair trends angry more are terrible - way worse than any tattoos I've seen.
     
  15. Quiet Raven

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    Well they already do that with clothing. Some clothing is acceptable, and some isn't. Mostly for good reason.

    Well most most workplaces have uniforms. But many schools don't. And they do it there.
     
  16. Browncoat

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    Since when is "professionalism" a concrete, objective concept? What is "professional" today wasn't necessarily "professional" 50 years ago, or "professional" on the other side of the planet.



    The truth is, in claiming "professionalism," either you're holding yourself hostage to an entirely abstract concept (and pointlessly so), or you're using the societal acceptance of such an abstract belief as an excuse to be a judgmental asshole.
     
  17. Tightrope

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    They're not my cup of tea. I really like looking at the pigmentation of skin, body hair, etc. that I find them a distraction. I have an easier time with it when it's other than on someone legs. To me, a great pair of legs is marred by tattoos. That's my personal opinion. It's whatever someone wants, though.

    As for whether they are fitting for a certain workplace, it depends. The culture of some places would not allow it. At other places, it could fly, whether the tattoos are hidden, partially exposed, or take up a lot of surface area.

    Personally, it's the ones that take up a lot of surface area that I don't understand. I had a girl wait on me at a restaurant and that's all you could see, coming out of her collar line and out from her sleeves. So if you wind up focusing on the tattoos, they shouldn't be surprised or offended. I didn't care for her, but I think that was because of her personality. She shouldn't have been a waitress.

    Tattoos are a weird thing because you have people who can't wait for the next time they'll get inked and people who you couldn't even pay large sums of money to have one put on them.
     
  18. Absol

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    This isn't about tattoos, but I remember this guy I used to work with had his ears gaged(they weren't stretched a lot, just like an inch) and our old manager made him put band aids over them because she didn't like them. He honestly would of looked "more professional" without the band aids. lol

    As long as the tattoos aren't obscene, I don't have any problems with them even in a professional environment.
     
  19. Lipstick Leuger

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    How ignorant of your friend. How does having ink make one less professional? I am a white collar medical professional, and I have three. The Speech therapist I work with has six, I know many nurses have them, and piercings, I know many doctors(my doctor actually also) that have a few of them, and Scientists are well known for getting them once their degree is earned.

    Eminent scientists and their tattoos | Feature | Science | The Guardian

    Judging someones professionalism based on something like that is so shallow, and really sad. I would watch my back around someone like that. Just something I learned in life.....
     
    #19 Lipstick Leuger, Dec 30, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2014
  20. Daydreamer1

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    They shouldn't have an effect on one's skills or professionalism. Thankfully, I've encountered plenty of modified people at places like Dunkin' Donuts and Walmart, which is uplifting since my only major job has been being an actor at a haunted attraction; and a few people were modded.