“Certain professional decorum must be maintained”

Ihave never been a fan of tattoos. Thus, as you would expect, I have never been inked. While I am all for personal freedom of expression, I continue to have reservations with regards to visible tattoos in the workplace, and tend to adopt a more conservative stance here. I work regularly with luxury hospitality brands, consulting them on grooming and image standards, and the industry standard is no visible tattoos. This is to ensure uniform standards and a certain professional decorum that translates the image of the luxury brand.

While some tattoos are artistic, there are many with religious or political significance which should ideally not creep into a workplace. If a brand was to allow one employee with a visible tattoo, then it would have to extend that freedom to everyone, and that could possibly create a whole new set of frictions. It’s all a question of standardising things. I have a simple opinion—you are free to tattoo yourself. Just keep in mind that if you choose to work in a p articularfieldwhichmi ght expect a certain level of conservativeness, your tattoos should not be visible.

It boils down to the industry you work in. Hotels, airlines, legacy luxury brands continue to adopt the no visible tattoos stance, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Fashion brands, trendy cafés, media houses, where selfexpression is part of the ethos, are more permissive with tattoos.

Riaan George is a grooming and image specialist, and a social media content creator. He doesn’t have any tattoos.