Are Tattoos appropriate in the workplace or does it depend on where the tattoo is placed? - Article by Katie Barks

We initially posted this question in June 2017 and I was curious to see how far along society has come in the last 3 years on this topic.

Last week I created a Twitter poll asking ‘If you were an employer, would tattoos play a part in offering a potential candidate?’ (With a few hashtags in there to spread the word!), the results were quite interesting.

The results showed that 49.7% of people wouldn’t dismiss someone based on tattoos whilst 17.6% openly admitted they would. 32.4% said it would depend on the type of tattoo and/or location. Interestingly the only percentage changes we saw were people that voted ‘Yes’.

2017 saw 7% stating tattoos ‘do’ play a part in the selection process, so why is there over 10.5% increase I wonder? Do people feel more comfortable in discounting potential new talent based on a tattoo? I am particularly interested to find out what peoples thoughts were on the ‘Tattoos Location’ option too…

Did you know that tattoos have been around for c6000 years? I didn’t until I did my research. I also came across some interesting facts-

• 72% of adults with tattoos have tattoos that are usually hidden by clothing.
• 35% of those between 30 and 39 years in the UK have tattoos.
• 42% of people think that tattoos don’t make people any more or less attractive.
• 69% of people don’t see people with tattoos any more or less deviant than people without tattoos.

According to a survey by YouGov, around a third of UK adults aged between 25-39 have tattoos. With these statistics in mind, there are various reasons why people have tattoos and should they be singled out for having them? Does it depend on the type of the tattoo or are they being discounted regardless?

So what did I vote?… I voted for ‘Location/Tattoo’. If you were interviewing for a teaching or childminding position, would you consider a candidate who had offensive language tattooed on them, in a visible place? Possibly not. The same could apply for any other role. I believe that candidates should remain presentable and professional for the role you are applying for. Does this also apply to hair colour, business attire, bad smells or poor hygiene, but I will leave that for another day…

 

I am always interested in those ‘controversial’ discussions so stay tuned for the next poll! All opinions are welcomed. Follow me @KatieBarks_HR and connect with me on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiebarkshr/

 

Statistics provided by:

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/business/should-tattoos-be-allowed-workplace-940022

http://www.historyoftattoos.net/tattoo-facts/tattoo-statistics/