Inked, Not Stained: Tattoos in the Workplace
I had a job interview recently for a grant writer position with a non-profit organization. From my observations, the office looked predominately run by middle-aged and older people. I was definitely the youngest person in the building. During the interview, I was professional, friendly, and appropriately confident. I thought the interview was going really well, until I noticed that the woman interviewing me kept staring at the tattoos I had on my arms. I only have two visible tattoos; one of an arrow and one of an airplane. Both are small, black, minimalist designs.This interview was in June, so naturally I did not wear long sleeves. But maybe I should have because I could tell that my tattoos made my interviewer uncomfortable. I made an effort to hide them throughout the rest of the interview, but the damage had already been done.
I would understand an objection to a swastika design or if I had profanities tattooed on my body for all to see; but a small arrow and an even smaller airplane? To be fair, I cannot say for certain that my tattoos were the reason I did not get this job, but her lingering stares really stuck in my mind and made me think. Call me a nonconformist millennial, but I truly do not understand the corporate bias against tattoos.
According to the “Skin Stories: The Art and Culture of Polynesian Tattoo” segment on PBS, Polynesian cultures have been using body art, or tatau in Samoa, for over 2,000 years. Before the Abrahamic religions spread throughout the West and condemned body art as a primitive practice, uncolonized societies would use body art as a way to express tribal achievements and an individual’s coming of age. While I do believe the tattooing of young children is a tradition best left behind, why not use body art as a means of self-expression as a consenting adult? And more importantly, if body art is your chosen medium of individual celebration, why should you be judged for it? It seems to me that somewhere between the boom of colonialism and the establishment of corporate standards, it became unacceptable to display tattoos in “polite” society — particularly in the workplace; as if your body art somehow diminishes the quality of work you provide or even your personal character.
So what does it mean to be professional? Professionalism is so much more than the clothes you wear or your lack of tattoos; it’s your demeanor, your attitude, your speech. Yes, presentation does play a role in how people perceive you, but why have we limited what is considered a “professional” presentation to slacks, blazers, and button-downs? I can run a meeting or present new ideas to my team while wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt that show my tatted arms (shocking, I know.)
Millenials are changing the workplace atmosphere in a big way and the “business casual” office attire is quickly becoming a casualty of our redefined standards. “It should probably come as no surprise that companies who want to attract more millennial talent are being encouraged to loosen up on their dress codes…when it comes to workplace attire, millennials want less rigidity and more room for comfort and personal expression,” says Lauren McEwen in her piece “How Millennials Are Changing What Business Casual for Women Means” written for FairyGodBoss.com. Hopefully, as millennials continue to redefine societal standards, this “personal expression” that McEwen alludes to will include the acceptance of tattoos in the workplace.
Of course businesses should have some form of dress code. Unless you are working from home, sweatpants and food-stained t-shirts will usually be a no-no in the workplace. But there is a happy medium between sweats and slacks. On Inc.com, Ryan Jenkins writes about the benefits of adopting a dress code called “smart casual,” and how professional millennials gravitate towards companies with more result-oriented than process-oriented atmospheres. “Smart casual can be considered a combination of casual, business casual, and business dress codes. Formal and casual clothing pieces can be mixed and matched to combine into a “smart” ensemble. It’s considered neat, conventional, and professional yet relatively informal. The best of all the dress code worlds.”
Millennials continue to challenge professional conventionality as we take over the working world with business start-ups and innovative ideas. I look forward to a career within a progressive workplace with new professional standards, including creative leniency and a “smart casual” office atmosphere. My bosses will critique the quality of my work and how I interact with my coworkers, not the clothes I wear (as long as the sweatpants stay at home) or my tattoos. Because the reality is that my tattoos are coming with me to whatever job I hold next, so it would be nice not to be judged for that.
