Amanda Kay Corcoran
Professor Samantha Bell
Comp II
March 27, 2017
Alternative People In The Corporate World
A year ago I was short on cash. When in need of extra finances I opted to try and find a second job rather then beg, borrow or steal. I have worked in the restaurant industry since I was 15 years old, that’s over 10 years of service, 7 of those years I was a waitress. If you’ve ever worked in the food industry you know that serving maybe difficult with long hours but you also know it means lots of extra cash fast. I went to Pinstripes (an American restaurant with bowling and bocce in Overland Park) to put in my resume and put on my best face and interview outfit to see if I could secure a job and with my experience I was confident I would get the position. At Pinstripes they took my resume and had me meet with a manager to sit down and talk. The meeting consisted of the usual interview questions and small talk when I felt the interview take a turn for the worst. I had pulled my hair behind my ear only to be met with the question, “How many piercings do you have?” I replied that I had quite a few but I had no qualms with taking my facial piercings out while working. I was familiar with the “no facial piercings” rule many restaurants had but the manager surprised me. “Here at pinstripes we only allow X number of piercings and your ears just have too much going on. I’m sorry but I cannot offer you the job.” I was floored. How did my interview go so badly so fast? No one I knew cared about how many piercings were in your ears but there I was, denied a job I was more then qualified for because I had been discriminated against for my ear piercings. Unfortunately I am not alone in this type of story.
There are many people all over the United States that have been denied jobs they are qualified for because of piercings, tattoos, or colorful alternative hair. A poll by theharrispoll.com in October of 2015 of 2,225 US adults surveyed states that nearly half of Millennials (47%) and over a third of Gen Xers (36%) said they have at least one tattoo. That’s 3 of 10 adults that have at least one tattoo. According to STAPAW.com (Support Tattoos and Piercings At Work) in America, piercing statistics show the percentage of people who have had piercings is 61% for adults including ear cartilage. Bright colorful hair has been a trend on the rise for decades. Body modifications aren’t for the select few anymore. Even if you yourself don’t have one, your friends, family and fellow American citizens most likely do and I’m sure you don’t wish the feeling of being discriminated upon anyone. These are prevalent in our society today and something no one should be discriminated against when it comes to securing a job.
The reality is that hiring managers discriminate, and they are totally within their rights to not hire someone with a tattoo (or piercing) that they believe would be offensive or inappropriate in their workplace or with their customers. Tattoos, piercings and hairstyles can be an important part of self expression and personality. Being such an important part of self-expression and personality the need to have them accepted in the workplace and beyond makes those of us who have such body modifications have a better sense of self esteem and a belief that we can belong in the corporate world.
Some only associate piercings and tattoos with negative things: old school Hell’s Angels, prison inmates, gang members, loose women, people who don’t have respectable jobs–meaning they don’t have to look “clean-cut” for work, punk kids who egg their mailbox and deal drugs in the park. There is a traditional attitude towards tattoos and piercings that they are inappropriate in professional settings like the workplace. Many companies and businesses have dress codes that forbid visible piercings and tattoos because employees are required to meet face to face with clients who may be offended by body modification. Employers often refrain from hiring people with visible body modifications to avoid driving away potential customers. Some of these businesses include: Abercrombie and Fitch, Albertson’s Grocery Store, Aldi, AMC Theaters, Banfield Veterinary Hospital, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Best Western Hotel, Blockbuster Video, The Body Shop, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Cato Fashions, Chuck E. Cheese, The Cheesecake Factory, Chick fil A, Circle K, Coco’s Bakery Restaurant, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Comcast Cable, Costco, Crabtree & Evelyn, Dairy Queen, Denny’s Restaurant, DirectTV, Dish Network, Disney Store, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Express Fashions, Friendlys and Friendlys, Geico Insurance, GNC General Nutrition Center, In-N-Out Burger, KFC, Life Care Centers of America, Little Caesar’s Pizza, McDonalds, Movie Gallery, Office Depot, Olive Garden, Oreganos Pizza Bistro, Outback Steakhouse, Palm Beach Tan, Pier 1 Imports, Pizza Hut, Princess Cruise Lines, Queen Mary 2, RadioShack, Red Robin Restaurant, Regal Entertainment Group, Ross Dress for Less, Safeway, Sheetz, Starbucks, Six Flags Amusement Parks, Starwood Hotels, Suncoast Motion Pictures, Sunglass Hut, Swiss Chalet, Toys “R” Us, Tuesday Mornings, UltraStar Cinemas, Van Heusen, VCA Animal Hospitals, VNA of Care New England, Yankee Candle, and Zaxbys. According to Tat2X.com.
While jobs that are tattoo friendly seem to be sparse. These are fields that are known to welcome tattoos in the workplace: Various Artistic Fields, IT/Technical, Bartender/Bar Staff, Construction/Contractor, Cook/Chef, Commercial Driver, Transport/Delivery, Waste Management/Removal, Hair Salon/Spa Staff. Listed in an article by Karen L. Hudson from tattoo.About.com.
We have to dispel the old stereotypes and false ways of thinking when it comes to body modifications. It’s Unprofessional. – It’s the person who does the job, not the tattoo, piercing, hairstyle or suit. Growth and productivity is directly affected by the character and qualifications of the individual. It will scare away customers. – According to FOX News, 97% of American adult consumers wouldn’t change current product shopping habits if employees had visible tattoos and piercings. As long as consumers felt they received the same quality and pricing they didn’t care about staff covering piercings or covering tattoos for work. It’s a health hazard. – If piercings are removed because of health concerns, but earrings, rings, bracelets, hair clips, or necklaces are allowed, it creates a double standard. Covering tattoos for work, but not other abrasions, cuts and scrapes, creates a double standard. Tattoos and piercings that are still in the healing process should be held to the same standards as other similar contaminants. Offensive tattoos or piercings in the workplace. – If you wouldn’t let an employee come to work with a certain expression or design on their shirt, then it’s a logical conclusion you wouldn’t allow them to display it in art form on their body either. However, these offensive tattoos are rare and offensive body jewelry is even more rare. It’s distracting. – Our phones are distracting, but you’ll never find anyone who lost an entire afternoon of productivity because they saw a tattoo, piercing or wild hair color earlier. It’s not the image we want for our company. – With such a large population of adults that currently have tattoos, piercings or alternative hair the myth that people with these modifications are automatically less qualified, irresponsible, delinquents, or not prompt is simply inaccurate.
We have fought against may stereotypes here in America. Racial, sexual preference, age, etc. Here in the U.S. we like to pride ourselves as being the land of the free, a melting pot of people and cultures but can we truly attribute those things to our country if we can deny qualified individuals for the jobs they seek for having piercings, tattoos or alternative hair? No, we can’t. Which is why we need to work towards dispelling those old stereotypes and work to make sure no individual is denied a job they are qualified for because of purely aesthetic purposes. We can stop discrimination against body modifications by being empathetic – understand your employer: at the end of the day business owners spend countless hours building their businesses and don’t necessarily build their business to make a social statement. They have built their business because it is their passion and dream. Customer complaints or negative feedback regarding tattoos, piercings or alternative hair isn’t just a threat to business it’s a threat to the owner’s passions, dreams and hard work. Prove yourself – employers say the most valuable employee qualities are honesty, drive and follow through ability. If you have your employer’s back they will have yours and most people find that piercing and tattoo policies relax after 1 or 2 months of proving yourself. Ask – sometimes employers have dress code policies out of habit. Many people have said that once they’ve proved their worth at their company, they’ve successfully asked management to change tattoo acceptance in the workplace dress code policies. Speak out – The problem is the only customers who voice their opinions are complainers. Most customers that ask for management only have negative feedback to give. As a customer, whenever you see alternative staff always ask for management and express thanks for supporting piercing and tattoo acceptance in the workplace. And Represent – If you have tattoos and piercings each interaction you make today represents the tattooed and pierced community. Love others, be respectful and work hard and you’ll change perceptions one person at a time. In our society today many people have body modifications, not just tattoo, piercings or the alternative hair, but things like plastic surgery. Why is one acceptable yet others are not? I leave you with one simple statement: Our bodies are not our resumes.