You were young. Naïve. And thought you were so cool. But now the time has come to settle down and focus on your career, you are beginning to wonder….why did I ever get such a visible tattoo?
Body art forms a large part in the expression of personal identity – in the modern age of self-expression, freedom of speech and political correctness, anything goes. But it seems the attitude towards employees with tattoos has changed very little.
Statistics show that people consider tattoos in the workplace a bad reflection on the employer and business. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Centre, although 23% of Americans have a tattoo, 42% of the 2700 respondents said that they thought tattoos in the workplace were inappropriate.
Interestingly, this survey also found that older people have more negative views on the body art trend, and that the younger the generation the more relaxed they were in their approach.
Tattoos are accepted in some industries – sometimes even encouraged. But if you are looking to land that executive position or a high-end office job, turning up with your Celtic armbands exposed probably isn’t a good idea – especially if you don’t know how the boss will react. Before accepting any job, it is best to research what the companies policies are in regards to covering and displaying tattoos.
Executive career coach Meredith Haberfeld advised “Each employer is going to vary from conservative to liberal when it comes to tolerance for their body art, so a good rule is to keep it covered in your interviews and even during your first few weeks in your job until you get a sense for the culture of the workplace.”
If you are determined to land that dream job and covering up body art simply isn’t an option (such as with tattoos on the face, neck or hands), you may want to consider having them professionally removed. Although there are very few prosecuted cases of discrimination, employers will not hire someone with tattoos if it is inappropriate to their particular industry.
These days, there is a very simple method for removing unwanted tattoos. By using Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), the molecules in the ink are broken down enough that the body can naturally cleanse the site and eventually leave unblemished skin. IPL is a gradual process so will require several sessions: the average tattoo can take up to around 10 sessions while older body art can take as few as 4 sessions.