A recent study has found that having tattoos does not necessarily lead to negative outcomes when looking for a job.
It looks like society has become more enlightened, as tattoos are no longer associated with ex-cons, poor job prospects, and unlivable wages. In fact, the results of a recent study have indicated that the opposite is the case. It was found that in some instances tattooed candidates were more likely to get certain jobs than non-tattooed job seekers (and those were not necessarily jobs in the creative industry).
So basically, having one or several visible tatts doesn’t cause job discrimination, and it could even help candidates land a job.
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The study was published in Human Relations under the title “Are Tattoos Associated With Employment and Wage Discrimination?”. It was a joint collaboration between University of Miami’s Business School and the University of Western Australia, which collected data from over 2,000 participants from across all 50 US states with the purpose of shedding light on the tired stereotypes related to tattoos in the workforce. Only half of the participants came from big cities, so the results busted the myth that people are more judgmental in smaller places.
It now appears as well that in many fields there are no annual earnings differences between tattooed workers and non-tattooed workers. We should perhaps safely assume that the results aren’t valid in all professions (heart surgeons or judges probably don’t compete with one another about who has the dopest ink), but the fact remains that mainstream prejudice against tattoos is finally becoming obsolete, and that’s a commendable shift in the world of employment.
Let’s not forget that a similar research project on the subject that took place more than a decade ago produced opposite results. According to Bustle, in 2006 an overwhelming 80 percent of human resources managers felt negatively towards job candidates with tattoos, and if you were a college a student back then and were dying to have one, it was at your own peril.
So good news, tattoo lovers! Start handing out those resumes and put your ink out there for the world to see. It might even do you a few favors.
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