Why Tattoos and Piercings Shouldn’t Affect the Hiring Process

People all over America don’t get hired for a job because of their tattoos or piercings, because tattoos are seen as unprofessional or inappropriate for work. This is proven by Skinfo’s statistics sheet that shows that “42% of all ages feel that visible tattoos are inappropriate at work”. Griffon News showed that 31% of HR managers think visible body art (piercings) negatively impacts their hiring decision. This means that if an HR manager sees a piercing or body mod, the chances of someone getting hired are less likely. Body modifications are also the number one physical attribute that can negatively affect the hiring rate of a person. Piercings and tattoos should never affect the chances of getting a job.

 Body mods don’t make you a bad person nor do they make you unprofessional, and in the end, body modifications won’t ever physically affect a person’s work. The most a body mod can do while a person is on the job is attracting the judgment from the people around them. HR managers not hiring people because of their body mods just feeds into the stereotype that they are bad and improper, which they aren’t. Some tattoos have really big meanings behind them too, so asking the employee to cover it up or get it removed is very rude and could be insensitive.

Having tattoos and piercings doesn’t necessarily make you a reckless person. Tattoos, as stated before, can have really personal meanings. Some of these tattoos represent family, love, equality, pride, growth, and more amazing things. Piercings are also a way to express yourself, and that’s a really cool thing. Having the ability to decorate your body permanently is fun and if someone wants to do it, it should never affect their hiring rate. Overall they don’t make a person careless, instead, they can show that a person is creative and outgoing. Having someone in the workplace who is creative, outgoing, and self-expressive is a really good thing, and when managers don’t hire those people the work environment can be very bland.

In the end, tattoos, piercing, or any body mod shouldn’t have a negative impact on the chances of getting hired. People don’t get hired all over the US because of the discrimination and the stereotypes of body mods. Despite what HR managers, or just regular people, believe, body modifications aren’t bad nor mean a person is reckless. Piercings and tattoos are a means of self-expression and creativity, and some people just haven’t accepted that or won’t accept it. They won’t ever physically get in the way of someone working, but what will get in the way is ignorant people.