In this article I will explain the current situation regarding body modification in the workplace. Gaining acceptance should be everybody's goal and we are making headway. Still, there are things we could do to make our quest easier. I will deliver examples of the stigmatism which our culture endures and relinquish my fears with hope for the future. Hopefully my own experience, albeit short lived, will encourage others to shed their inhibitions regarding body art. At least to the point of tolerance.
At A Glance Author nonexistant Contact [email protected] IAM nonexistant When N/A Last year a study performed by the Mayo Clinic revealed that 23% of university students had one to three tattoo and 51% had one or more piercing. These individuals will soon be entering the workforce and may be surprised by the reaction some employers display, especially in the office.
Sandy Pomfrey, who is a senior clerk in the advertising department for the major pharmaceutical company Wyeth, was inked over two decades ago in an effort to ease the pain of a recent divorce. She got a butterfly above her left ankle. To her "butterflies are free."
She knows of no company policy that prohibits body art yet wears dark hose when the corporate executives visit. Because of the ink she feels they might not "think that I take my job as seriously as I do," she told the interviewing newspaper, the Times- Dispatch.
According to another study, 36% of Americans aged 25- 29 had at least one tattoo and 16% of adults nationwide have at least one. Many feel stigmatized for adorning the body art that individualizes them even if their workplace has no rule against it.
Pomfrey is correct to believe that. Employers have the right to impose dress codes and to take corrective action against those in violation as long as they do not discriminate or hinder a person's race, color, religion, age, national origin or gender.
Nearly half, 44% of managers said the had tattoos or piercing in places other than the ears. Yet 42% of managers in the same study said that their opinion of someone would be lowered by that person's visible body art. In fact, piercing fared worse than the tattoos. 81% of respondents believe non ear based piercing are unprofessional compared to 76% of respondents who felt the same way of visible tattoos.
In a Vault.com survey, which surveyed 500 of its readers, 44% of managers had tattoos or non- ear based piercing. 51.7% of workers confessed the same. According to the survey it seems as if working ones way up the corporate ladder becomes more difficult if he or she is modified. 58% of managers said they'd be less likely to hire a modified individual. For management prospects it is worse. 24% of managers compared to18% of workers said their art has hindered their career prospects.
Type of job also plays a role. It seems that the more upscale jobs impose stricter dress code. Starbucks, for example, only allows two sets of matching piercings on the earlobes and employees must cover up any tattoos. Their reasoning is that tattoos don't belong with upscale coffee, which is funny to me. I have a large visible tattoo and I love Starbuck's coffee. I even have a coffee mug from the original Starbucks caf� in Seattle, Washington.
The news is not all bad though. As body art makes its' way up the corporate ladder there is increasing pressure to accept it. It also seems easier to find workplaces that embrace employees with modifications. The leaders of this new trend value ability over appearance.
In fact, at the Borders Books and Caf� in Louisville Kentucky the operations manager said, We look for it. It makes things more interesting and more fun."
Twenty five percent of those surveyed in a recent Challenger, Gray and Christmas said that personnel decisions are not influenced by visible tattoos or piercing. That opposes a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Nearly half of those surveyed said that nontraditional appearance would sway their hiring decisions.
Adorning our bodies with ink and stretching our holes to mind numbing distances encourages individuality, it encourages diversity and creativity yet it often gets a bad rap with its opposes claiming that it encourages infections and the passage of blood- borne pathogens. When I read those articles with eye catching headlines I usually find that all they can find to write are risks and warnings. I feel that these people should quit trying to give our culture a bad rap. Often people just read the headlines not in depth to see what the person is really trying to get across. I honestly don't think that opposes to our art would read further if they saw a headline that reads, "Body Piercing Events Lead to Numerous Infections."
My own experience has been positive because of my own actions. When I was hired by my current employer I had two piercing and a small tattoo. I was hired because I responding to the ad quickly and I interviewed well. Today I have seven holes and have had my small tattoo covered up by a quarter sleeve. I get away with it because I am reliable, arrive on time and strive for perfection in my work. I show improvement weekly. I know this has helped me in the past and will need to be continued if I want any further modifications to be approved of.
I think modified people everywhere should hold themselves to a higher standard to encourage tolerance and acceptance of our mods. Being polite to those who rude to us or discriminate against us because of our art might open society's eyes as to how trivial yet important to us our art really is. We really aren't that different, after all. Thank you for reading this article.