We’ve all heard the banter between folks when discussing their tattoos. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard or said, “I was young and dumb” in reference to tattoos. I sometimes feel this way about mine, as they’re quite visible on my hands and arms. I had them done during my stint as a world traveler, not thinking I’d find myself in the corporate world, wearing long sleeves and rings to cover my teenage rebellion’s lasting mistakes. I’ve been lucky enough to develop business relationships without my tattoos acting as a barrier, however this isn’t the case for some. We all know that millennials are changing the game by promoting a more casual approach to work and with their take-over of nearly 40% of the job force, I foresee big changes in corporate standards.

Considering that 40% of millennials carry body art, it’s hard to imagine that this 40% would also carry with them an employment disadvantage, right? A friend of mine thinks differently. She argues that visible tattoos are unprofessional and that their stigma will last much longer than my hopeful fantasy suggests. Recently, we toured a downtown Las Vegas community, where our leasing consultant was heavily tattooed. She was dressed casually and had facial piercings. I connected with her and admired her artwork and style, but my friend resented her choice of dress and visible tattoos and our consultant had “lost all credibility” as far as she was concerned. This incident showed the difference in our perception of what’s acceptable in the workplace.

College graduates entering the workforce believe that tattoos and other body modifications will not prevent them from securing employment. In fact, according to a study performed by the International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 80% of young professionals do not think that piercings and tattoos reduce the chance of getting jobs. This shows that the younger workforce is majorly in favor of wiping away the tattoo stigma. They believe that there are more important indicators of a qualified applicant. In a scientific study performed by the International Journal of Hospitality Management, participants concluded that grooming and business attire were more important factors in hiring decisions than tattoos and piercings. This begs the question: were any of these participants hiring managers? If so, would that have tipped the scales of the study?

In a research article written by Andrew R. Timming of the University of St. Andrews, 25 participants were interviewed on the barriers of tattoos in the workplace. This pool consisted of both hiring managers and heavily-tattooed professionals. The study revealed a predominately negative effect on hiring decisions, with these considerations being based on a large range of variables including: tattoo placement, genre of tattoo, employee’s proximity to customers, and the industry in which these professionals worked. It found that tattoo prejudice in the workplace was largely driven by hiring managers’ vision of customer expectations.

 I’ve always had the “hire the best person for the job, even if that person is purple with spikes” mentality. A company I worked with hired a woman with a face tattoo and let me tell you, she was just as productive as her non-tattooed counterparts. However, her position was not a front-facing one. With companies like Google and Zappos choosing to lax their codes of appearance, we tend to think that this shift may be acceptable across the board. But Zappos programmers aren’t greeting potential clients and selling the value of their luxury apartment homes either. In a study published in the Journal of Retail and Consumer Studies, consumers were shown to have negative reactions to body art and showed a preference for non-tattooed front-line staff. This shows that even though the younger workforce views tattoos as non-qualifying criteria for hiring decisions, hiring managers must still bend to the whim of consumers, and with most consumers preferring non-modified staff members, there may be a halt in the changing stigma we may have expected in the coming years.

Is it possible to find a happy medium? Can we maintain a code of appearance that is expressive, not offensive, to all consumers? It’s hard to say. It seems there’s too big of a gap in thought between people. Millennials connect with others like them and don’t recognize many long-time stigmas, however millennials aren’t the only ones renting apartments.

What are your thoughts on tattoos in multifamily? Have you ever had an experience where you were put-off by a tattooed staff member? Have you personally experienced the negative effects of tattoo stigma?

Comment below!

Sources:

https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0950017014528402

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.11.005

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2011.11.001

http://www.ijird.com/index.php/ijird/article/view/69975/54946

Author: Taylor Duffy, Director of Sales, The Property Partner