26th July 2016

Tattoos and the workplace

Now I do understand that as the generations roll on, standards and expectations in business do not always meet with what would have been deemed acceptable in my younger days, but after my recent meeting with my new business banking relationship manager, something appeared very wrong in the world of banking and possibly elsewhere.

Tattoos are not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ and it is a sad fact that they can, in extreme cases, give an impression that may quite unfairly, not match with the individual’s actual personality, capability, lifestyle or knowledge. 

Self-expression for ‘my generation’ by way of ‘inking’ was once strictly reserved for south sea islanders, bikers, teddy boys, the military and the criminal classes. Today it has found its way into the boardroom. Men and women equally seem to exercise some poor ‘placement judgment’ at the tattoo parlour as the nations low literacy skills present ‘inkers’ difficulties in getting the spelling right as the big new danger. 

According to ACAS “About one in five British people are thought to have one, and they're most popular among 30 to 39-year-olds, with more than a third admitting to being inked and one in ten people in the UK are thought to have a piercing somewhere other than their earlobe”. 

They go on to note that according to a recent study this particular practice is “extremely popular among women aged 16 to 24, as almost a half (46 per cent) are alleged to have a non-earlobe piercing.”

Although the ‘blue collar’ world is loosening up, not all ‘white collar’ financial services firms, large and small across the UK are ready for studded and inked employees since it's only recently that tattooing and piercing have become so very mainstream. 

Indeed, most small businesses I have spoken with do not have an ‘inking and body art’ policy in place.

Dress down Friday has not yet been replaced by ‘ink up Monday’, or has it?

I am not sure what image anyone these days is looking for in a bank manager but I would suspect that putting Captain Mainwaring to one side, one would perhaps expect a sense of some form of ready for business etiquette by way of dress, a certain understated sense of business interest, professionalism and enthusiasm.

It may be that todays employers are so ‘hog tied’ by human rights and political correctness that staff who are in customer facing roles can turn up for work as if they were either off to the pub with their mates or have just come from the pub and have not had time to prepare themselves for what pays the salary.

My new banking relationship manager was around early thirties, he was scruffy and had an enormous dark blue ‘Polynesian style’ tattoo extending the length of his arm to below his wrist, what may be elsewhere was best not contemplating.

Putting aside any prejudices, is it so wrong to expect that even in today’s world of more casual business standards, anyone in a financial services customer-facing role representing their employer should at least look the part?

What message is conveyed to a firm’s customer by the sight of a heavily inked, pierced thirty something individual who is there supposedly to represent his corporate employer in dealing with your best business interests?

Tattoos are for life it would seem but are they for business life? Many large employers have policies that do not allow visible tattoos. Depending on the employer’s industry and the type of job, this may make sense.

Does your firm have any ‘inking’ policies in place? Have you experienced any negative customer or staff reaction relating to tattoos either as an employer or as an “inked employee’?

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