TATTOOS AND THE TABOO
BY LUCY RILEY ILLUSTRATIONS BY MADDIE JAMES
“You’ll never get a job looking like that.”
There are many of those common criticisms of tattoos, hair colors, and piercings. The status quo has ruled out body piercings, tattoos, and colored hair in the professional world for a rather long time.
Taboo is such a scary word. In the past decade, there has been a large shift in the way bodily modification is viewed and regarded in the hiring process. There is a newer surface of focusing on the well-being of employers, with corporate bodies focusing on mental health. However, this focus varies from employer to employer. The main cause for concern is image and public opinion; there are plenty of companies that hold back on allowing their employees to express themselves through their physical appearance.
Delaney Williams, a current employee of Panera and past manager at Chipotle, said she found Chipotle to be more lenient toward piercings, tattoos, and hair colors. Her time working for Panera has been slightly different, as the company is more concerned about the physical appearance of their employees.
Williams said one of her Panera coworkers with a septum piercing must wear a mask until it heals so she can conceal the piercing, Williams said. Williams said she thinks Panera takes careful concern with the image of the company.
Piercings seem to be what holds the biggest issue for companies, but hair and tattoos have caused quite an uproar in the workforce as well. Williams said in the past, “unnatural” hair colors were banned for Panera employees, but recently, the company has been more relaxed.
Similarly, she said tattoos that could be seen were also previously banned.
“Now, I think, you’re allowed three showing and no face tattoos,” Williams said.
Even hiring and professional companies like Indeed provide advice for all of these modifications on its website, offering some advantages and disadvantages one's piercings could bring. They also promote how tattoos, piercings, and different hair colors can promote creativity and individuality.
Caeley Grady, a former Ohio University Outdoor Pursuits employee said there have been vast differences in hiring processes for the places she has worked. She explained most places she has worked there were not many issues brought up regarding her piercings, saying that any issue Grady faced was not directly stated, but more brought up in comments.
Working for a university program, Grady had many college-age students working with and for her. She said when working in an environment where there are so many people with piercings or tattoos, they start to become second nature. With more and more college-age students being bejeweled with piercings, tattoos, and multicolored hair, it is no surprise the workforce is slowly becoming more and more adaptable to these changes.
Grady said in almost all industries there has been a more accepting view of bodily alterations.
“I have friends who are nurses, and now they have almost full sleeves of tattoos,” Grady said.
She added that it is a very prominent shift, considering even 10 years ago it was not as “professional” to have a nose piercing or a septum piercing as a nurse. A career field as prestigious as the medical field is changing to the current expectations.
The rules and regulations of different bodily modifications have varied for decades, still being completely non-negotiable in some cases. Certain careers hold very strong limitations such as government jobs and military service. For example, to serve in the United States Coast Guard, only two piercings are permitted on the ear; they must be inconspicuous and only pierced on the lobe. Policies regarding tattoos are even stricter.
Hair coloring can be easily forgotten in the mix of piercings and tattoos. However, hair is more likely to be what stands out the most. Whether bright pink, light blue, or animal prints, hair tends to speak before you do. With hair colors and styles, the rules may be more unspoken than spoken. Stories of people wanting to finally achieve that perfect bubblegum pink look, yet sometimes the perfect shade isn’t so perfect to others. Previously the “unnatural” look was seen as unprofessional and too eye-catching.
With your brown hair, you may have been a desirable candidate, but there is still a possibility of someone else getting the job since you dyed your hair that beautiful blue. Williams said there is a tricky balance between image and public opinion coming back to haunt professionalism. In her early days as a Panera employee, she said the idea of “unnatural” hair was an extreme faux pas. Now the company has slightly less severe rules, and to dye one’s hair, it is asked you approach and ask a higher-up before doing so.
While some careers have remained more conservative in their practices, there are still a great deal of companies and career fields that have come to change with time. As younger generations get older, the impact of Millennials and Generation Z entering the workforce has pushed this effort along.
As a young person who has held many positions, Grady said the influence of younger generations has been integrated into the workforce. Younger people progressing into management positions has greatly influenced the hiring process, she added.
“Now there's a change in how younger people are in management, so then that also trickles down to it being more acceptable,” Grady said.
