Tattoos and Piercings in the Workplace

[SassyLeo]

I want to talk about piercings / tattoos and what you think is appropriate work attire and appearance in the workplace.

I work for a large healthcare organization in HR in one of the Administrative buildings. We frequently have staff from medical or dental clinics come to our building to pick up paperwork or attend meetings.

A few weeks ago, a woman in scrubs arrived at the reception area to pick up a check. She was a Medical Assistant (the person who talks with you before the doctor comes in – takes your BP, gets your medical info, etc)

She had a nose ring, an eyebrow piercing and lip ring.

I have to admit, as progressive as I think I am…I had some serious judgment about her appearance.

So I had a discussion with Erin about this. I told her that I feel like when someone is in a medical/clinic environment, appearance should be as “clean” as possible. Of course, how can I know how clean someone keeps their piercings? And is that a fair judgment? Then we talked about tattoos. Does that hold the same feeling? For me, no…because after tattoos are healed, they are really unlikely to get infected. But is it really about the cleanliness factor or the “clean” appearance? How would you feel about someone with tattoos or piercings working in your Dr’s office and potentially treating you?

I have an acquaintance who also works at my company…she has almost full sleeve tattoos. She works in a more “suited” environment and wears long sleeves every day. Even when it is really hot outside!

I have several tattoos, but I have always been careful about where they are placed on my body…because I have no idea what kinds of jobs I will have in the future and I wouldn’t want them to prevent me from obtaining a job.

In Portland, it is pretty liberal and casual, in terms of what companies expect (in general)…but we are like a bubble, in many ways. Especially when I compare to other states I have been (mainly the South).

I believe that there is appropriate attire for the workplace, especially in healthcare. Now if I worked in a clothing shop or tattoo shop or a creative type company… I’m sure I would have a VERY different feeling. So is it about the industry?

Erin says that we as a society need to progress, to be more accepting and progressive about what is considered a professional appearance. Or what is considered “OK” attire for an office. If someone is great at their job and/or highly regarded, what should it matter if they have tattoos or piercings?

So what do you think?

[Linus]

I often end up facing some pretty conservative types and have at least one visible tattoo (back of my neck) and my eyebrow piercing visible. Never had a complaint and if anything, it's created a great conversation piece.

Piercings are similar to tattoos in that once, healed they should be fine. If you have pierced ears, are they not clean and healed? (serious question)

As for health care, I'd be fine. I'm there for their knowledge and compassion -- not their looks. I've met some who have no tattoos or piercing and are worse in their behaviour/hygiene than those with.

[Isadora]

How people decorate their bodies is their own personal work of art is great. I remember telling Hawk once after hy had a conversation with someone with piercings all over her face to not look at the piercings and make judgments but to look at her eyes and listen to her. Then you can decide how professional she is or is not....

Believe me it is not just tatts and piercings..I have been told how I look (being zaftig) I would not be taken seriously as a professional. Ha!

[lipstixgal]

Well Sassyleo I am a medical assistant and have no visible piercings except for the ears and no tattoos. The lady I'm doing my internship for is very conservative so is the practice. Its family medicine and geriatrics so I guess that the medical assistant doesn't care about her piercings or her job would be in jeopardy!! I for one am not going to get tatted or pierced in the future because I don't know what kind of job the future holds for me.

[Linus]

I wanted to add in one other thought: it may also depend on the kind of tattoo it is. Fairies, flags, plants, religious icons, etc. tend to be ok. More violent (e.g., swearing, killing, skulls, etc.) and/or "nekkid" tattoos in particular would probably cause some "backlash".

[SassyLeo]

Originally Posted by MrSunshine

I don't want a surgeon with "KILLA" across their knuckles but other than that I could care less.
One of the girls that runs a primary care unit at a V.A I go to is covered in both. I think it's hot. But most of all she rocks at her job.

HA! Killa! I might agree on that point.

I think tattoos are hot as well! And it is interesting that I have less judgment about them...

Originally Posted by Linus

I wanted to add in one other thought: it may also depend on the kind of tattoo it is. Fairies, flags, plants, religious icons, etc. tend to be ok. More violent (e.g., swearing, killing, skulls, etc.) and/or "nekkid" tattoos in particular would probably cause some "backlash".

I would hope we wouldn't hire a nurse with a racist (or sexist, etc) tattoos, but who knows. I mean, RN's are in SUPER demand right now. I guess if they can be covered up and the person is willing to?

That brings up a good point... would folks be more offended or have more judgment if the tattoos were seriously gross or offensive?

[SassyLeo]

Originally Posted by Linus

I often end up facing some pretty conservative types and have at least one visible tattoo (back of my neck) and my eyebrow piercing visible. Never had a complaint and if anything, it's created a great conversation piece.

Piercings are similar to tattoos in that once, healed they should be fine. If you have pierced ears, are they not clean and healed? (serious question)

As for health care, I'd be fine. I'm there for their knowledge and compassion -- not their looks. I've met some who have no tattoos or piercing and are worse in their behaviour/hygiene than those with.

Erin has visible tattoos and a nose ring...she also works in IT. And in her work environment, she also gets to wear shorts and t-shirts everyday. Do you think that IT has a different concept about these things?

Originally Posted by Isadora

How people decorate their bodies is their own personal work of art is great. I remember telling Hawk once after hy had a conversation with someone with piercings all over her face to not look at the piercings and make judgments but to look at her eyes and listen to her. Then you can decide how professional she is or is not....

Believe me it is not just tatts and piercings..I have been told how I look (being zaftig) I would not be taken seriously as a professional. Ha!

Isa- thanks for both comments. You always have great wisdom

Originally Posted by lipstixgal

Well Sassyleo I am a medical assistant and have no visible piercings except for the ears and no tattoos. The lady I'm doing my internship for is very conservative so is the practice. Its family medicine and geriatrics so I guess that the medical assistant doesn't care about her piercings or her job would be in jeopardy!! I for one am not going to get tatted or pierced in the future because I don't know what kind of job the future holds for me.

Yes, I thought about that. I mean, we hired the person, piercings and all. We must have liked her enough to hire her. And she wouldn't have a job if we got complaints.

Good thoughts. Thanks.

[Linus]

Originally Posted by SassyLeo

Erin has visible tattoos and a nose ring...she also works in IT. And in her work environment, she also gets to wear shorts and t-shirts everyday. Do you think that IT has a different concept about these things?

Some parts of IT, yes. Parts that are not customer facing don't really care. They are more interested in ability than looks (the old BOFH was not know for hygiene or fashion sense).

[MrSunshine]

I don't want a surgeon with "KILLA" across their knuckles but other than that I could care less.
One of the girls that runs a primary care unit at a V.A I go to is covered in both. I think it's hot. But most of all she rocks at her job.

[chefhottie25]

Originally Posted by SassyLeo

I want to talk about piercings / tattoos and what you think is appropriate work attire and appearance in the workplace.

I work for a large healthcare organization in HR in one of the Administrative buildings. We frequently have staff from medical or dental clinics come to our building to pick up paperwork or attend meetings.

A few weeks ago, a woman in scrubs arrived at the reception area to pick up a check. She was a Medical Assistant (the person who talks with you before the doctor comes in – takes your BP, gets your medical info, etc)

She had a nose ring, an eyebrow piercing and lip ring.

I have to admit, as progressive as I think I am…I had some serious judgment about her appearance.

So I had a discussion with Erin about this. I told her that I feel like when someone is in a medical/clinic environment, appearance should be as “clean” as possible. Of course, how can I know how clean someone keeps their piercings? And is that a fair judgment? Then we talked about tattoos. Does that hold the same feeling? For me, no…because after tattoos are healed, they are really unlikely to get infected. But is it really about the cleanliness factor or the “clean” appearance? How would you feel about someone with tattoos or piercings working in your Dr’s office and potentially treating you?

I have an acquaintance who also works at my company…she has almost full sleeve tattoos. She works in a more “suited” environment and wears long sleeves every day. Even when it is really hot outside!

I have several tattoos, but I have always been careful about where they are placed on my body…because I have no idea what kinds of jobs I will have in the future and I wouldn’t want them to prevent me from obtaining a job.

In Portland, it is pretty liberal and casual, in terms of what companies expect (in general)…but we are like a bubble, in many ways. Especially when I compare to other states I have been (mainly the South).

I believe that there is appropriate attire for the workplace, especially in healthcare. Now if I worked in a clothing shop or tattoo shop or a creative type company… I’m sure I would have a VERY different feeling. So is it about the industry?

Erin says that we as a society need to progress, to be more accepting and progressive about what is considered a professional appearance. Or what is considered “OK” attire for an office. If someone is great at their job and/or highly regarded, what should it matter if they have tattoos or piercings?

So what do you think?

I tend to agree with you here. Some work enviroments should be more professional. I work in a kitchen...so tattos are acceptable. If we are in view of the guest we have to cover our tattos. I don't know how I feel about piercings in a work space that is handling food. I know that is not very progressive of me...and I don't know why I have this opinion about piercings. I hoping that someone here will enlighten or proselytize me about my view on the issue.

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by SassyLeo

Erin says that we as a society need to progress, to be more accepting and progressive about what is considered a professional appearance. Or what is considered “OK” attire for an office. If someone is great at their job and/or highly regarded, what should it matter if they have tattoos or piercings?

So what do you think?

I agree with the above. To me your appearance has absolutely nothing to do with how you do your job. Obviously if you're working in a hospital you want to be hygenic (hygene is always important unless you're a student and its exam time ) because you don't want to risk infecting anyone/getting infected. However, beyond general hygene (which, to me, has little to do with physical appearance) it shouldn't matter what a person looks like. Thoreau was right when he said that a man can walk into town with a patch on the knee of his pants and be looked down upon. That attitude still exists today, and is something that should change in my opinion. Someone can be dressed up to the nines and be completely incompetent and be given a job solely based on appearance, while someone with a mohawk will often be automatically shot down as incomptetent when the opposite may very well be true. Actually, that's how I feel about quite a few of the heads in my own company...very little knowledge, very little competence and riding off the success of their employees rather than having anything to offer. And why? Because they look "professional" and have learned the art of bullshitting.

Things are definitely changing these days, thankfully, and I hope they continue to. I don't think appearance has anything to do with how well you do your job. I also think tattoos/piercings have less of an impact on the customer's opinion of the employee than many people think, and I think that's being proven daily.

[SF_Boi]

Times have and are changing pertaining to tattoos. Back in the day, to have a visible tattoo was a very big "no no". Nowadays, I don't know one friend or person who doesn't have a tat. I started getting my tats years ago. Some can be seen and some can not. In my profession, at the beginning, you could have a tat or two. Then as the years have gone by, I see more people with tats. Nothing was said for years, then little by little, agencies have restricted tats on their employees. I say, don't judge a book by it's cover.

On the same note, a year ago, I had a medical emergency (peanut allergy) about a year ago. My treating physician had tat sleeves on both arms, tats on his knuckles and neck. He was a great guy and I have never felt more relaxed around a physician.

[Write14u]

I have three tattoos, none of which are visible unless I want them to be. I tend to lean toward that air of professionalism. When I'm out and about, I don't mind wearing a muscle shirt and showing off the tat on my bicep, but I don't feel as comfortable with it in the workplace.
That said, I don't have a problem with seeing tats on people in any environment. I'm pretty cool with piercings too, but in the professional areas I run around in, I don't see too many piercings.

Side note: The advertising side at my office is not allowed to wear flip flops. The editorial side is. Pretty freaking stupid. So, of course, I like to go down and see my graphic artist friend while wearing my flip flops! *grin*

[Arwen]

SassyLeo, I hear you. Part of me tends to agree because that part is listening to old tapes from people who don't get to count any more.

I have seen some tattoos/piercings that took me aback but then I also have seen some clothing that was HIGHLY work inappropriate. Darlings, if I want to see that much of your breast, I'll take you to a nice dinner first, k? Now put on a jacket.

The most interesting tattoo I've ever seen was a customer service rep for a company I worked for in Denver. Dude had facial tattoos in blue ala a Pictish warrior.

My pagan self said, "Rock on, that's totally cool."
My manager self said, "Dude, be grateful this is a phone job."

Then I realized...it's not in my hula hoop. I simply don't get to dictate what others wear or display--even the low-cut clothing. If I were in management, I would have to say something if it were outside the written dictates of our dress code. But, I'm not, so I don't.

[EnderD_503]

I keep seeing words like professionalism, dress code or other words that imply the same things, and I can't help but wonder what is so unprofessional about tattoos, piercings or even certain articles of clothing? To me, professionalism is an attitude, not a dress code. I thought it might be interesting for us to examine why exactly we, as a society, see people with tattoos, piercings or who dress a certain way as unprofessional or inappropriate. Is it the connotations that such things have in modern society (or perhaps in a more conservative past)? On top of that, why exactly are certain articles of clothing, tattoos or piercings seen as "disrespectful" to some? Because they do not conform? Because they do not seem "neutral"? Do we need complete uniformity and the erasure of individuality/individual identity in order to be professional? If not, then what is it about these things that makes people deem them unprofessional? Again, I think back to Thoreau on this one. And, funny enough, to Booth from Bones and his colourful socks and Cocky belt buckle in his quiet rebellion against conformity

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by SassyLeo

I believe that there is appropriate attire for the workplace, especially in healthcare. Now if I worked in a clothing shop or tattoo shop or a creative type company… I’m sure I would have a VERY different feeling. So is it about the industry?

It might be about the industry SassyLeo.

I work in the healthcare field as well, and our company policy is no visible tattoos on anyone, anywhere, regardless of size. Also, no piercings other than ears, and only "standard, traditional" ear piercings (although they are allowed on both men and women).

Our entire dress code is quite strict. For years we weren't even allowed to wear open-toed shoes, even for desk positions.

[SassyLeo]

Originally Posted by JustJo

It might be about the industry SassyLeo.

I work in the healthcare field as well, and our company policy is no visible tattoos on anyone, anywhere, regardless of size. Also, no piercings other than ears, and only "standard, traditional" ear piercings (although they are allowed on both men and women).

Our entire dress code is quite strict. For years we weren't even allowed to wear open-toed shoes, even for desk positions.

I've been thinking about this for the last few weeks...and there are 2 pieces for me that I struggle with.

1. I think because I work in healthcare, and because I know that STILL some of the outside world views tattoos and piercings as "not clean", I get stuck in that thought. I know that some of the population we serve (elderly) is challenged by appearance and what is considered sanitary. We have a policy that staff cannot wear artificial nails and excessive jewelry or make-up in the clinics and hospitals because of sanitary reasons. But I think that also is their way of also maintaining what they view as a “professional appearance”

2. I have a lot of opinions about how people dress in the workplace. I know this is MY stuff. I own it. We have several folks here who push the envelope; wearing flip flops and holey jeans to work. Our dress policy states that you cannot wear them, but these folks insist they are “dressy” flip flops and the jeans “came that way from the store”.

So, it’s not JUST about the tattoos and piercings, it is about what I think is OK to wear to work. Although my parents are total ex-hippies and very liberal minded people, I was raised with ideas about how to behave, appear, speak, etc. And how to be and appear in the workplace is a big one.