Tattoos in the Workplace - Essay Example

Tattoos in the Workplace Introduction Tattoos are regarded as changes made to an individual’s body with the assistance of insertion of ineradicable ink inside the skin’s dermis layer in order to alter the color of the skin. The act of getting tattoos made on an individual’s skin is regarded as the act of tattooing and has been in practice for several thousand years in different cultures throughout the world (Glenn, 2013, p.369). The main purpose of tattoos is to serve as symbols of status, religious reflection or symbols reflecting culture of an individual. Tattoos have even been utilized by mankind to spread messages and share emotional feelings. In mass media, the images of tattoos are reflected upon in quite a negative manner. The mass media mostly portray that individuals who have tattoos represent individuals who are anti-social and deviant in nature. This is even true in the real world as various gangs and anti-social groups have tattoos that distinguish them from other groups. For several years, the perception of tattoos is quite negative as tattoos have been mostly associated with goons and gangs. The overall society still gives great importance to the outer appearance of an individual and outer appearance is even given great importance in workplace. Exterior appearance is given more importance for those positions where the interaction between customers, suppliers and other stakeholders with the position holder is quite high. Since tattoos are mostly associated with the crime world, employers will avoid hiring individuals who have tattoos on them. Since the exterior appearance is of less importance in positions that do not interact much with stakeholders, individuals having tattoos are mostly seen to be working in lower level positions. Tattoos are mostly associated with the male gender, so employers are less likely to hire women who have tattoos. This paper will focus on whether tattoo based discrimination should be allowed in the workplace or not. Tattoo based discrimination should be allowed in the workforce as the employees hold the responsibility of being an ambassador for an organization and the organization’s image is at stake if the image portrayed by employees is negative. Body Purpose of Tattoos Nothing in this world exist without a purpose and tattoos even serve several purposes even though others may regard them as a way of seeking attraction. In several different cultures, tattoos are used to portray status of an individual. These purposes even take place in the western world. For example: wearing a tattoo with the name of one’s girlfriend may provide an individual with the status of being a boyfriend. Tattoos are even used to represent that an individual is associated with a clan and certain individuals even wear them to portray some kind of power or status such as wealth and authority. For several years tattoos have been used to represent unacceptability in society and these tattoos have been put to use to differentiate between anti-social members of a society and the members of a society who comply with the norms and values of a society (Cuyper, 2009, p.30). Individuals who represent a gang such as biker gang may use such tattoos to represent that they are against their society’s norms and values. Tattoos are even used to show affiliations that are political and religious in nature. For example: a person representing a particular political party may wear a tattoo of the party’s flag to affirm his membership. Similarly, Christians may wear a tattoo of a cross to represent their religious affiliation. Tattoos are even associated with superstitious beliefs, for example a sailor may wear a tattoo of a chicken on one foot along with a tattoo of a swine on the other foot because he/she believes that this will save him from drowning. Perception of Tattoos in the Workplace Tattoos can be witnessed in all walks of life including workplace. According to a research conducted by the Pew Research Center during the period of 2010, 40% of individuals aging between 18 and 29 wear at least one tattoo and 50% of these individuals have two or more than two tattoos carved on themselves (PEW, 2010). The research further asserts that 18% of individuals who had tattoos during the period of 2010, had six or more than six tattoos carved on them. A similar study conducted by the same group during the period of 2006 showed that 10% of the adults who aged between 41 and 64 had a tattoo carved on them (PEW 2008). These statistics are very necessary to make a decision whether tattoos in workplace should be allowed or discriminated against. According to a report created by the American Bar Association during the session of 2008, it is the employer’s right to decide whether or not they want their employees to wear tattoos and employees has to accept their decision (Weiss, 2008). This means that employer’s interest is given precedence by law in the case of tattoo and even if the employee has a wish to display work of art on his/her body, the employer makes the decision of the amount of body art that can be displayed by employees. This has been affirmed in the case of Robert v. Ward, in this case the court ruled that the policies regarding dress code including tattoo work on employees is to be created by the employer as long as these policies are equitable in nature (UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, 2006). An employer’s perception regarding body art is varies from position to position. Employers are of the perception that employees who interact more with the company’s customers and other stakeholders should not wear tattoos. Employees are of the opinion that body art is their right to express themselves. Advantages of Tattoos in the Workplace There are several advantages associated with allowance of tattoos in the dress code policy of a workplace. One of the main advantages that can be received by the organization is that it can portray itself as an organization that promotes the first amendment right of freedom of choice and freedom of speech (Carroll, 2009, p.935). According to the first amendment, all individuals have a right to freely express what they feel. By wearing tattoos individuals tend to express themselves in the form of body art. If organizations start allowing employees to wear tattoos, organizations will be acknowledged as being those organizations that promote freedom of expression. Certain organizations that have an innovative culture such as media organizations and marketing organizations can allow its employees to wear tattoo in order to promote the creative side of the organization. Customers of these organizations may be attracted by employee’s body artwork and may perceive that the organization is quite creative and innovative and get the required creative task completed in a positive manner. People who wear tattoos are perceived to have an eye for creativity and by hiring such people, organizations can attract more and more creative individuals. This in turn will help the organization in achieving diversity as people from different cultural backgrounds will be will to work for the organization. Creativity is currently a major concern for organizations and organizations can enhance their creativity by hiring creative people. Disadvantages of Tattoos in the Workplace As stated previously, tattoos are perceived to be associated with individuals representing anti-social activities. If organizations start hiring individuals wearing tattoos, the organization’s image will be perceived in a negative manner and customers may be avoid working with such organizations. They may perceive that the organization is indulged in deviant activities and that is why people who commit deviant activities have been hired to represent the organization (Newton, 2008,p.49). Employers have the right to make policies regarding dress code of their organization and they may not allow individuals wearing tattoos to be hired for the organization as tattoos and body artwork may be against their standard dress code. If individual’s wear tattoos they may experience difficulty in attaining jobs in organization where an organization holds a dress code policy that has zero tolerance for tattoos. An individual may even fail to achieve a high paying job and may only be hired for a lower level job if he/she wears a tattoo. This is because in such jobs, employees are less likely to interact with stakeholders of the company. Employers have a variable attitude towards hiring individuals who wear tattoos. They may avoid hiring employees who wear tattoos for those positions in which higher amount of interaction of the employee with the employer is required and may be willing to hire employees with tattoos for those positions where less interaction is required. Conclusion There are various disadvantages of wearing a tattoo, one of the most common issue associated with wearing a tattoo is that tattoos are not accepted as a part of the dress code of employees by most of the organizations. The organization has a right to set the policy regarding the dress code of the organization and they may not prefer tolerating tattoos as part of the dress code of the organizations as tattoos are mostly associated with criminals and anti-socials. Organizations need to have a clear cut policy regarding tattoos; if they plan to ban tattoos then they should treat every employee similarly whether they are a lower level employee or a high level employee. Works Cited Carroll, A. B., & Buchholtz, A. K. (2009). Business & society: ethics and stakeholder management (7th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Cuyper, C. d. (2009). Dermatologic complications with body art tattoos, piercings and permanent make-up. Berlin: Springer. Glenn, C. (2013). The writers Harbrace handbook (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Newton, M. (2008). Gangs and Crime. New York: Infobase Pub.. Tattoo Taboo | Pew Research Center. (2010, March 24). Pew Research Center | Nonpartisan, non-advocacy public opinion polling and demographic research. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/tattoo-taboo/ Tattooed Gen Nexters | Pew Research Center. (2008, December 9). Pew Research Center | Nonpartisan, non-advocacy public opinion polling and demographic research. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/tattooed-gen-nexters/ Tattooed Gen Nexters | Pew Research Center. (2008, December 9). Pew Research Center | Nonpartisan, non-advocacy public opinion polling and demographic research. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/tattooed-gen-nexters/ UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS. (2006, November 27). UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/06a0438p-06.pdf Weiss, D. C. (2008, September 25). As Tattoos Enter Mainstream, Courts Uphold Employers’ Right to Ban Them - ABA Journal. ABA Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/as_tattoos_enter_mainstream_courts_uphold_employers_right_to_ban_them/ Read More