Many of my clients are summer camps and Girl Scout councils. Many camps include dress code policies in their application packet. Dress code policies at camp not only include requirements for proper attire, but also guidelines for body piercings, tattoos, and hair color and length. It's wise that these camps let applicants know up front whether or not they will be able to follow the organization's policies -- and whether or not they want to work there.
A Wall Street Journal Online article documented that:
one in every ten Americans have tattoos, up from one out of every hundred three decades ago, according to the Alliance of Professional Tattooists based in Annapolis, Maryland. A growing acceptance in corporate America of Upper-middle-class women between the ages of twenty and forty, especially those that dread mutating later in life into Soccer Moms, fuel most of the growth, according to tattoo parlors.
While Boeing and Ford Motor allow "non-offensive" tattoos and piercings that are not a safety-risk, Wal-Mart and Subway ban facial jewelry. Restrictions on tattoos and piercings are most commonly found in health-care fields, fast-food service industries and mass-market retailers. But as the New York Times reported last month, tattoos are gaining visibility in all manner of professions. And the customer pushback has been minimal.
Parents are a special market. Will tattooed camp staff keep them from sending their children to camp? Or will prohibition of tattoos keep tattooed parents from sending their children? The topic is definitely controversial, as evidenced by the heated discussion taking place on The Wall Street Journal's blog "The Juggle."
In today's rapidly changing world, choosing to keep a possibly outmoded dress code needs careful consideration, rather than "that's the way we've always done it." Tattoos and piercings are common in many ethnic cultures, including some we might not think of as ethnic (think Ed Bradley and his earring).
Businesses that are looking to increase diversity in their workforce, and consequently in their customer base, might have to rethink policies that clearly eliminate expression of certain ethnicities and religion, other than mainstream (whatever that is anymore in most countries).
Wondering about the legalities of your dress code and visible tattoos and piercings? Check out this intelligent post at the Pennsylvania Labor and Employment Blog. And over at the HR Capitalist is a discussion about the economic impact that tattoos may or may not be having on your business.
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