Times Are Changing For Tattoos and Piercings in The Workplace

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Not long ago, the Southampton University news and opinion website (SOTON TAB) featured the article ?The Tattoo Debate: To Ink or Not To Ink??, confirming that ?tattoos and body piercings are becoming more and more commonplace?. A University of Westminster study found that about 20% of participants had tattoos and 15% had piercings. A very recent piece in The Telegraph stated that ?more than a third of 16- to 44-year-olds have tats?. In response to the obviously large percentage of the population who sport body art, David Wilkinson recently collected over 2,000 signatures on the HM Government e-petition, ?Prevent discrimination in the workplace in regard to Tattoos and Body Piercing?.

At the moment, there are no UK laws that specifically deal with tattoos and piercings. In addition, body art does not fall into any category protected by workplace discrimination laws. The only restriction is that tattooing persons under the age of 18 is illegal. Thus, it is up to individual employers as to whether or not they allow body art on their employees. Of course, here the situation becomes murky. Questions such as the following arise: Are the tattoos/piercings visible or hidden? If visible, how much or how many can be seen? Regarding tattoos, are they in ?good taste? and who defines what that means?

However, laws or no laws, the number of employees who now sport one type of body art or another are so great that employers are being forced to create some sort of workplace policy. Some employers are flat out against. More employers are trying to find ways to both maintain their ideas of ?company image? and accommodate their employees? tattoos and piercings.

Lovers of body art can contribute to the acceptance of tattoos and piercings in the workplace. First, they can choose tasteful items. While taste varies, there are some guidelines that most people can agree on. Consider placing the more easily accepted tattoos in the more visible areas. Regarding piercings, have a variety of jewellery which includes some less flamboyant options for work. Second, invest in quality. A beautifully done tat is more likely to be accepted than a poorly done one. Piercing jewellery with fine lines crafted in a good material such as silver or gold will more readily be seen as just lovely jewellery than as a piercing. Third, SOTON TAB suggests taking your employer into consideration. For some interviews, that might mean toning things down a bit by covering up and removing piercing jewellery. For others, it might be an open discussion of your body art so you and your interviewer can explore the issue as it relates to your potential employment.
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This blog was authored by Brian Lessing for BodyMattersGold (BMG). BMG offers a wide variety of fine quality body jewellery which would most likely be acceptable in any workplace.

Source: http://ronareviews.com/2012/09/13/times-are-changing-for-tattoos-and-piercings-in-the-workplace/

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