Bryan Powell, a senior branch manager for an online stock-trading company, always wears the ubiquitous corporate uniform to work: suit pants, long-sleeved shirt and tie. However, the shirts Powell wears are never white because his tattoos might show through.
"Even when we have casual day, I wear long sleeves," says Powell, 35, who has tattoos on both arms and shoulders and got his first at 19. "I would feel totally uncomfortable if I didn't."
Like Powell, many younger executives from Generations X and Y got their first tattoos before entering corporate America. Many, as did Powell, continue to get tattoos. The risk is that older bosses or more conservative customers might not get the attraction to tattoos. And that can impact professional advancement--or even job stability.
Tattoos are not protected by equal-employment laws. "Employers do have the right to make hiring decisions that take appearance into account that don't include race or gender," says Melanie Holmes, vice president, world of work solutions at Manpower.
They certainly are more prevalent these days, including in the office. Teenagers surveyed by the Gallup Poll in 2005 said 19 is the acceptable age for a person to get a tattoo. That same year, research by the Mayo Clinic and Harris Interactive found that 23 percent of college students have one to three tattoos, and of people 18 to 29 years old, 36 percent have tattoos, reported CNN.
Most men get tattoos on their arms, chest or back and most women get them on their back or ankle, but more are choosing to "ink" their arms as well, says Sailor Bill Johnson, executive director of the Alliance of Professional Tattooists.
Johnson, who has been a tattoo artist for 40 years, says tattooing was popular with older generations, but back then, no one showed them. "Plenty of people got them but not as many people showed them," says Johnson. "Now people show them."
Holmes says that "tattoos gaining wider social acceptance is being reflected in the workplace in general ... because of the younger generations."
Holmes, 57, is of the baby-boomer generation for whom getting a tattoo was usually a secret. She occasionally wears temporary tattoos and sees the stares of others who appear confused that "I'm middle aged and wear a tattoo." The competition for talent and the frequency with which younger people have tattoos is making it tougher to not hire people or fire people because they have them, says Holmes.
"Some regions and industries are in a talent crunch, so the competition to attract and retain skilled workers has resulted in employers providing work environments more open to employees of any background or personal preference and individuality," says Holmes. "But still, if you want a tattoo, don't put it someplace you can't cover [and] keep in mind it might limit your career choices."
That's why Powell always wore long sleeves to interviews and never wears white long-sleeved shirts--he doesn't want to risk hurting his career.
His tattoos, however, are special to him. An avid athlete and weight lifter when he is not working, Powell got his tattoos to celebrate athletics goals he achieved. Each was designed by an artist friend and now they cover too much of his body to be easily erased with medical treatment. Some tattoos were anniversary presents from his wife, and three of them occurred after he became branch manager at his stock-trading firm.
"When I go out [wearing short sleeves] people think I work at a factory," says Powell. "I tell them I'm going for my master's degree and they're shocked."
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