December 16, 2008

Body art and the recession: Are job seekers covering up more?

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During the past couple of years, articles about whether to hide or proudly display one's tattoos and body piercings in the workplace have become a popular addition to many media outlets covering work/life balance issues.

But yesterday, when I noticed that the Pew Research Center stat of the day stated that 36 percent of Gen Y has a tattoo and 40 percent of Gen X does, I had to wonder: Are people going to greater lengths to hide their body art in this tough job market?

Before the bottom fell out this year and employers started handing out pink slips like Altoids, the conventional wisdom was this: Work in a traditional business sector like banking, finance, or accounting, and you'd best cover up. (In other words, when in Rome...) But work for a dotcom or a smaller, more creative firm, and you'll often get more leeway with regard to body art.

Of course, there are anomalies in every business sector. It's been well documented that a certain Seattle-based coffee chain has a "no body art" policy for its workers. It's also no secret that a certain software giant based in our region doesn't have a problem with off-the-beaten-path hair colors, clothing, and body art.

Once upon a pre-recession time, if a person was committed to working for an employer that didn't require them to hide their body art, they'd seek out more accepting companies by asking folks they knew about their company's culture, spying on employees in the parking lot during summer (when tattoos are more conspicuous), and consulting a web resource like ModifiedMind, which lists the body-art policies of dozens of employers.

But with so many more people looking for work these days, are job hunters who get inked doing so in places that are easier to cover up (even in summer)? And are hopeful employees who already have body art taking greater pains to cover up, in the event that the hiring manager on the other side of the interview desk isn't tattoo or piercing friendly? I'm curious. And if you've got a story to share, either from the employee or employer side, I'd love to hear it.

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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1 Comments

Mo on December 23, 2008 7:03 AM | Reply

I don't think I've ever been in an interview that anyone mentioned my tattoos. The ones that are in locations everyone can see are small and simple (A raven on my right wrist is one). However, I don't have a job that requires me to interact with patients/clients/customers, either. I'm fortunate in having had bosses who look at the quality of my work rather than what's on the body doing it. If anyone ever did have a problem with it, they can then speak to HR, because it doesn't affect my work and is religiously significant to me.

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