Leaving Your Mark: Tattoos in the Workplace

Feb 12

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always admired tattoos. My parents had a few themselves and I loved looking at the art statements as I curiously asked what they meant to my mom and dad. I told them for years that when I turned eighteen I wanted to get one on my birthday, and that is exactly what I did. My parents have always supported me and how I express myself, and so my mom went and got one with me. Today, I have five total and would love to have at least one patchwork arm sleeve in the future. Additionally, I have a septum nose piercing. Sadly, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries a great quantity of individuals have been judged and/or discriminated against for simply being inked or having facial piercings. Tattooed persons can be received from the public eye as having “delinquency behavior,” along with correlating them to gang activity from several years past. However, slowly but surely the newer generations are opening people's eyes that tattoos are not taboo.

For example, according to the Statista Research Department, 41% of millennials and 23% of Gen Z have at least one tattoo, as of 2021. It’s as if the newer generations are trying to normalize that tattoos are not taboo, but are rather art pieces that help humans be themselves, and decorate their bodies the way they want to. Sadly, many professional work environments do not see it this way. Employers can sometimes have bias towards those with tattoos or facial piercings in the interviewing process and can be concerned that the potential employee's look may affect the company's “image.” Instead of focusing on which individuals have tattoos and facial piercings, corporations should simply focus on the talent a person is bringing to the company. Nowadays, tattoos are just something a lot of people want, regardless of the profession. Cole Strem, a tattoo artist at Port City Tattoo in Long Beach, agrees and expressed that, “Cops have tattoos, firefighters, nurses, doctors, lawyers… It’s something for everybody.”

Letting go of the negative stigma behind this art form allows people to see the bigger picture: that tattoos show people’s authenticity, especially in the workplace. From personal experience, body art can assist in building rapport with your colleagues, bosses, clients, students, etc.. As an elementary teacher’s assistant with four visible tattoos on my arms, I have found that they have helped me to connect with my students. Leonard McCrary is the lead teacher in my classroom for fourth and fifth grade at MEHP. Just like me, he has a good amount of tattoos visible on his arms, plus a small stud nose piercing.

When asked for his opinion on the matter he stated that, “I understand that education is business but it also is about relatability. And you can’t get a child to learn or follow you if they cannot relate to you. While we’re wasting time worrying about how many tattoos or piercings you have or what’s your hair color or what you are wearing that day, I think we should focus on the impact that the individual has on a student.” I couldn't agree more. Being inked truly can have students feel as if you are more approachable, allowing them to feel more comfortable overall. It also engages them by encouraging them to ask questions about what your tattoos mean to you! Our bodies are blank canvases that we control; why wouldn’t you want to fill it with art? Let’s get rid of the mindset that tattoos are unprofessional in the workplace, because in reality they are not. Never apologize for being authentic and true to yourself; today we definitely need more of that.

Strike Out.

Writer: Sunshine Finnell

Copy Editor: Sarah Singleton

Chattanooga

Leaving Your Mark: Tattoos in the Workplace

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