Why Millennials Are Uncovering Tattoos at Work
In 2015, nearly half of US millennials owned up to a tattoo, as did 30 per cent of Britons of similar age. Those figures have almost certainly risen since, judging by the number of tattoos brought out into the open during the UK’s recent heatwave.
Evidence also seems to be growing that body art is not as much of a hurdle to employment as it was once thought to be — and this is good news for the inked and uninked.
Many colleagues I consulted said they were gradually uncovering tattoos and even piercings at work, if they had hidden them in the first place. One said she had concealed tattoos for nearly a decade with plasters, trousers or thick tights until she realised it made no sense — particularly as her job included advising people to bring their “real selves” to work. Another said, “if it matters that much to someone to see ink on my wrist that it would overshadow their opinion of my personal or professional self, then they are probably not someone I would respect, or seek the respect of anyway”.
Body art is more than just a fashion choice. People choose tattoos to mark turning points, remind them of their core values, or shore up their identity: I ink, therefore I am.
Adam Peaty, the UK swimming star, has a lion tattooed on his left bicep, visible whenever his body rises from the pool en route to another medal. Jill Abramson, former editor of The New York Times, had a T tattooed on her back in the NYT’s font. UK scientist Matt Taylor chose to ink the Philae robot on to his right thigh to show his dedication to the Rosetta space project.
Most tattoos do not line up so precisely with an employer’s mission or brand. But research just published in the journal Human Relations suggests that despite perceptions, people with tattoos no longer face any actual wage or employment discrimination in the US. Tattooed men may even be slightly more likely to find a job.
Most people I canvassed said they would still cover up tattoos for a first interview. One, who wears a nose-ring and tattoos, told me she would worry she “might just be unlucky enough that the one person interviewing me will be one who judges me — and I would rather they didn’t judge me on that”.
Vocabulary:
millennials – individuals born roughly between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, “Many millennials prefer renting apartments close to city centers rather than buying large houses in the suburbs.”
owned up to – (phrasal verb) admitted to doing or having something, especially something that might be judged or kept secret, “He finally owned up to making a major mistake on the weekly financial report.”
hurdle – a problem, obstacle, or difficulty that a person must overcome to achieve a goal, “Passing the advanced vocabulary exam is the final hurdle before graduating from the language program.”
inked – (informal) having one or more tattoos on the skin, “The popular rock musician is heavily inked across his arms, shoulders, and back.”
concealed – kept carefully hidden from sight or secret from others, “She concealed the surprise birthday present in a locked drawer so her sister wouldn’t find it.”
overshadow – to appear much more important, prominent, or noticeable than something else, causing it to be minimized or ignored, “A single spelling error on the final slide should not overshadow the brilliant data presented by the team.”
shore up – (phrasal verb) to strengthen, support, or reinforce something that is weak, unstable, or struggling, “The local business owner decided to launch an online store to shore up his declining monthly sales.”
en route to – (idiom/prepositional phrase) on the way to a specific destination or achievement, “The ambitious athlete broke two world records en route to winning her gold medal.”
font – a set of text characters designed in a specific style, size, and weight; typeface, “Please make sure to use a clean, professional font like Arial or Calibri for your official job application.”
line up – (phrasal verb) to align, agree, or match perfectly with something else, “The company’s new environmental policies do not quite line up with their manufacturing practices.”
perceptions – the ways in which something is commonly regarded, understood, or interpreted by a group of people, “Public perceptions of office environments have shifted drastically since the rise of remote working technology.”
discrimination – the unfair or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of age, race, sex, or appearance, “The federal government has strict laws to protect job applicants against any form of employment discrimination.”
canvassed – systematically asked a group of people for their opinions, feedback, or perspectives on a particular topic, “The research agency canvassed thousands of local workers to discover how they felt about flexible hours.”