Body Modifications in the work place
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:33 am
What say you all, is this just a north american thought or world wide.
Quite personally, I think it is not quite reached world wide acceptance.
Tattoos, piercings coming out at work
Sharda Prashad -
June 27, 2005
Printer Friendly version
Discretion still advised but fewer employers care - In some cases they are seen as a mark of company hipness
With the growing acceptance of tattoos and body piercings in the mainstream, revised career advice is being doled out to jobseekers.
"A decade ago, most job search authorities would have said showing off tattoos and body piercings would be a sure way to put your résumé in the "No Way!" pile. However times have changed," says John Challenger, CEO of executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., in a report released last month.
With unemployment levels at relative lows and the search for talent becoming more difficult, employers are broadening the definition of who and what are considered suitable, explains Challenger.
"Employers are recognizing that they have to find the best talent," says Challenger. "How a candidate looks is not as important."
That could be because candidates today are indulging in body art more than ever before. Challenger, Gray & Christmas has found nearly half of students have body piercings and one quarter have tattoos. In another study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, 23 per cent of university students were found to have one to three tattoos, and 51 per cent to have one or more piercings. The study counted non-earlobe piercings for women; for men, earlobe piercings were included.
Tattoos and piercings appear to be more accepted in the technology, advertising and marketing sectors, Challenger says.
For job candidates uncertain whether to remove piercings and/or cover up tattoos, Dan Ondrack, a professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Toronto, suggests conducting a gap analysis.
"Candidates should think about the personal strategic question, 'Do I want to be me, or do I want a job?' If they think there is too big a gap between these two questions, then maybe this is not the place for them," explains Ondrack. "Or they can be 'me' on the weekends and be more conformist on the job." Another question is the effect on client relations and co-worker relations. "Will being 'me'have a negative impact on clients/co-workers, or make my own life on the job so miserable that I won't like working there?" If so, then again it's not the place for you."
Hugh Gunz, a professor at U of T's Rotman School of Management, agrees the dilemma of whether to be yourself or cover up tattoos can be a conundrum for job-seekers. But the decision they reach, Gunz adds, can provide employers with insight into their abilities during the interview phase.
"Interviews are important rituals with conventions that, if you don't observe, you show yourself to be someone who may well not fit in with the many other conventions that keep organizations running smoothly. It's a bit like good table manners: you're certainly suppressing your individuality by eating with your mouth shut and knowing which knife and fork to use, but you're also showing the kind of courtesy to your fellow diners that helps social groups stick together."
"One of the conventions for most business interviews is that you dress toward the formal end of the business scale, which for most people means covering up the piercings and tattoos, and bringing your wild hair under some vestige of control (unless, that is, it's a business in which the norm is for everyone to do their own wild thing).
"If you don't, you've shown that you lack the ability to pick up on important social cues, and you may be seen as a potential embarrassment."
From a legal perspective, employers can choose not to hire someone because of her tattoos and/or piercings, provided the decision does not contravene the Ontario Human Rights Code, explains Ross Wells, a specialist in labour and employment law Gowlings Lafleur Henderson.
Such a choice might be made to maintain a certain corporate image, says Wells.
It is more difficult for an employer to implement a no-tattoo policy after an employee is hired because it could potentially lead to a constructive dismissal suit by the employee, Wells says.
"Suppose someone with a tattoo (needs to cover it) with a large bandage," Wells explains. "The change may be something the employee can't (reasonably) accommodate," says Wells.
But he is noticing that employees may not have to alter their appearance, because businesses and employers are becoming more accepting of tattoos and piercings.
"It's a sign of the times," he says. "Employers' own children are getting these, so they are becoming more tolerant."
Monica Belcourt, a human resources professor at York University, thinks hiring people with tattoos provides a corporation with a more modern image. More conservative organizations may even benefit from allowing piercings and tattoos to be visible at work.
"A young lawyer with piercings indicates a young, cool and happening firm," explains Belcourt. "It makes the employer (appear) fun-loving and cool."
Quite personally, I think it is not quite reached world wide acceptance.
Tattoos, piercings coming out at work
Sharda Prashad -
June 27, 2005
Printer Friendly version
Discretion still advised but fewer employers care - In some cases they are seen as a mark of company hipness
With the growing acceptance of tattoos and body piercings in the mainstream, revised career advice is being doled out to jobseekers.
"A decade ago, most job search authorities would have said showing off tattoos and body piercings would be a sure way to put your résumé in the "No Way!" pile. However times have changed," says John Challenger, CEO of executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., in a report released last month.
With unemployment levels at relative lows and the search for talent becoming more difficult, employers are broadening the definition of who and what are considered suitable, explains Challenger.
"Employers are recognizing that they have to find the best talent," says Challenger. "How a candidate looks is not as important."
That could be because candidates today are indulging in body art more than ever before. Challenger, Gray & Christmas has found nearly half of students have body piercings and one quarter have tattoos. In another study conducted by the Mayo Clinic, 23 per cent of university students were found to have one to three tattoos, and 51 per cent to have one or more piercings. The study counted non-earlobe piercings for women; for men, earlobe piercings were included.
Tattoos and piercings appear to be more accepted in the technology, advertising and marketing sectors, Challenger says.
For job candidates uncertain whether to remove piercings and/or cover up tattoos, Dan Ondrack, a professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Toronto, suggests conducting a gap analysis.
"Candidates should think about the personal strategic question, 'Do I want to be me, or do I want a job?' If they think there is too big a gap between these two questions, then maybe this is not the place for them," explains Ondrack. "Or they can be 'me' on the weekends and be more conformist on the job." Another question is the effect on client relations and co-worker relations. "Will being 'me'have a negative impact on clients/co-workers, or make my own life on the job so miserable that I won't like working there?" If so, then again it's not the place for you."
Hugh Gunz, a professor at U of T's Rotman School of Management, agrees the dilemma of whether to be yourself or cover up tattoos can be a conundrum for job-seekers. But the decision they reach, Gunz adds, can provide employers with insight into their abilities during the interview phase.
"Interviews are important rituals with conventions that, if you don't observe, you show yourself to be someone who may well not fit in with the many other conventions that keep organizations running smoothly. It's a bit like good table manners: you're certainly suppressing your individuality by eating with your mouth shut and knowing which knife and fork to use, but you're also showing the kind of courtesy to your fellow diners that helps social groups stick together."
"One of the conventions for most business interviews is that you dress toward the formal end of the business scale, which for most people means covering up the piercings and tattoos, and bringing your wild hair under some vestige of control (unless, that is, it's a business in which the norm is for everyone to do their own wild thing).
"If you don't, you've shown that you lack the ability to pick up on important social cues, and you may be seen as a potential embarrassment."
From a legal perspective, employers can choose not to hire someone because of her tattoos and/or piercings, provided the decision does not contravene the Ontario Human Rights Code, explains Ross Wells, a specialist in labour and employment law Gowlings Lafleur Henderson.
Such a choice might be made to maintain a certain corporate image, says Wells.
It is more difficult for an employer to implement a no-tattoo policy after an employee is hired because it could potentially lead to a constructive dismissal suit by the employee, Wells says.
"Suppose someone with a tattoo (needs to cover it) with a large bandage," Wells explains. "The change may be something the employee can't (reasonably) accommodate," says Wells.
But he is noticing that employees may not have to alter their appearance, because businesses and employers are becoming more accepting of tattoos and piercings.
"It's a sign of the times," he says. "Employers' own children are getting these, so they are becoming more tolerant."
Monica Belcourt, a human resources professor at York University, thinks hiring people with tattoos provides a corporation with a more modern image. More conservative organizations may even benefit from allowing piercings and tattoos to be visible at work.
"A young lawyer with piercings indicates a young, cool and happening firm," explains Belcourt. "It makes the employer (appear) fun-loving and cool."
Works faster than cold water doesn't it?