Can heavily tattooed people have 'good jobs?'

By KAHLA PRESTON

Let us introduce you to Vladimir Franz.

He’s a Czech opera composer and painter, tattooed from head to toe in vibrant, warrior-like designs. A creative type with tattoos – well, that’s just part of the territory, isn’t it? It’s not like he’s the President or something.

Well, actually, he almost was.

Earlier this month, this colourful character polled fifth out of nine candidates in the first round of the Czech presidential elections. It seems his radical appearance was far from problematic.

From the Guardian:

“Personally, I wouldn’t vote for him – but [the tattoos] are not a problem at all,” said Tomas Pistora, a 33-year-old IT specialist from Prague. “The young people prefer him because they don’t have a better choice.”

Many Czechs, especially in the capital, are not shocked with Franz’s appearance simply because the 53-year-old professor at Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts has been around for years.

Franz says his tattoos are simply body art and that the election is not a beauty contest. “A tattoo is a sign of a free will and that does not harm the freedom of anyone else,” he said.”

But is the rest of the world as understanding as Jakub Fisera? Perhaps not.

Because when it comes to job suitability, whether rightly or wrongly, aesthetics matter.

Clean clothing, a fresh face, tidy hair, and polite professional conduct are obvious boxes that any person going for a new job knows they need to tick.

So what of visible tattoos?

News reports in Australia and abroad indicate that many employers and industries are unwilling to tolerate such obvious displays of self-expression.

Tattoo opponents argue that body art looks unprofessional and intimidating in the workplace. As a result many of us have been advised to keep job opportunities in mind when considering getting inked the first place; hence the popularity of small designs in easily concealed locations, “just in case” one’s ink should become an issue.

Yet denying a person a job on the basis of their appearance is blatant discrimination and surely self-expression should not be punished?

The debate is further complicated by attitudes towards certain professions and industries. Compare, for a moment, baristas and barristers. Now if the bloke who makes your coffee has a funky looking design on his forearm it probably wouldn’t cause you even a moment’s pause but the woman who represents you in court? Chances are you’re looking for the law-abiding, clean cut look.

Debate over the appropriateness of body art was sparked in Australia last year, when it was reported that police in New South Wales and South Australia planned to amend their policies to ban visible tattoos on recruits.

Evidently the issue had been significant enough to warrant inclusion in existing police application forms. For example, the SA Police form stated that “Visible tattoos or body art must not be excessive or offensive to recognised standards of decency or reflect adversely on the professional image the community would reasonably expect from its police officers.”

As many commenters pointed out, having a tattoo does not make a person less qualified for a job than someone with bare skin. Likewise, there is no guarantee that a tattoo-free worker is the better choice.

However, this isn’t reflected in the view held by many Australians. Research by Employment Office last year found 60 per cent of Australians surveyed saw visible tattoos as unacceptable in the workplace and believed they should be covered or removed before job interviews.

Regardless of which side you take, it doesn’t look like this debate is going to be over anytime soon.

The prevalence of tattoos in Australia is increasing, with a 2012 study indicating approximately one in seven now have tattoos – although this figure could be much higher. Body art is particularly popular among the younger generations.

At this rate, maybe we will have a Prime Minister with tattoos from head to toe in a decade’s time.

We reckon Tony Abbott should consider a bunny rabbit just below his speedos line. A really cute one.

Take a look at our gallery of celebrity tattoos – the good, the bad and the very strange…

What do you think about tattoos in ‘serious’ professions? Are they only okay in certain types of job? If someone’s great at their work, does it even make a difference?