While a large portion of the population has tattoo, one aspect that many tattooed people face is that they are looked at as taboo or evil, just because they have body art. Nobody wants t be treated like that, and yet we are told tattoos are more common now than they have been in the past. People wear tattoos for everything from art appreciation to cultural purposes. There are even some people that commemorate a specific event in their lives through tattoos. The idea of tattoos for many individuals is still considered taboo, this is the reason why Rachel Hennesy is a writing taking risks. When it comes to writers that take risk, in the work that they write, Rachel Hennessy has proven that she is not afraid of taking a risk to do her job the way she feels is the best. While many people think of tattoos as a taboo subject of discussion, she was willing to dedicate her time to making a top quality article on the idea of tattoos being accepted in the workplace. While the article was well written and highly informative, this article was a risky one to write, because in many aspects, the idea of tattoos is still considered taboo. This means that this article could end up leading to a lack of readership by some groups, which would take from the readership of the writer, Rachel Hennessy. Her belief is that tattoos are becoming more popular and more excepted. By her taking the time to write a risky article regarding not only the taboo topic, but she is also taking an unpopular opinion of it, she took a huge risk that paid off for her.
Roughly 14 percent of the population of the United States has at least one tattoo. Out of that, almost all a have heard how they are ruining their lives with the tattoos that they choose to get. They hear that they will never be able to get a good job or make good money. These are just some of the facts that Rachel Hennessy used to show what her opinion was, when it came to the topic of tattoos in the work place. In this article, Rachel Hennessy has various people with tattoos describe how the tattoos that they have did not stop them from being able to obtain employment. She also has made sure that the people that she chose are very successful in their selected line of work. Some of the people that she interviewed help ranks like the CEO of a consulting firm, a professor at the University of New Mexico, and she even included a spokesman for the corporation of Bank of America.
The article went on to describe how some companies do feel that there is a need for keeping a level of professionalism. The biggest field for this, per the article, is healthcare. They believe that the professionalism and covering the tattoos makes it more comfortable for the clients. When it comes to her article, there is one thing that seemed to contradict the tone and information that the rest of the article was providing. In the last paragraph, she included a statistic from CareerBuilder stating “31% of surveyed employers ranked “having a visible tattoo” as the top personal attribute that would dissuade them from promoting an employee”. She claims that while more jobs are becoming accepting of them, there is no reason from someone to show off their tattoos, while on the job. Per Hennesy, “Workplace concealment policies vary, but having a tattoo in 2013 certainly doesn’t ruin one’s chance at having a successful career.”
Not only did she tackle the idea of addressing a controversial topic, she also had ended up taking a very unpopular perspective in the article. Many people are still against tattoos being in the workplace. In many cases, people are allowed to have them, but they end up having to cover them up or hide them. While people with tattoos may not get turned down for the job, in many cases, they are told that the tattoos are not allowed to be visible while working. By choosing to write an article on a controversial issue, there is a risk, because others may find the article to be offensive. Hennessy taking the stand that she did, she would have been taking a risk by going against the people that are against tattoos in the workplace. She also was taking a risk against tattoo enthusiasts, whom believe that they are not being treated fairly, as a result of their tattoos. The author was also able to get interview statements from individuals like the CEO of a consulting firm that claimed it was the skills not the appearance that are important. One of the people that she chose to use as an interview for her article was a professor that had a tribal tattoo on her face. This is able to show that even with this pronounced of a tattoo, the individual was able to have successful career in the educational field. In the articles, she quotes him saying that it was his confidence that was able to keep people from focusing on the facial tattoo that he has.
While there seems to be some level of contradiction within the article, there are many great points on the aspect, even if these are not from the most popular perspective. Her choosing to take a risk in righting this article the way that she did allows people to be able to sit back and think about the concept of tattoos in the workplace. The contradiction can backfire on someone, because a reader could always read the article and become upset, because they do not agree with the viewpoints of the writer. This could cause the reader to become uninterested in other written works by the author.
With Forbes magazine being one of the biggest known business magazines, there is a definite impact of this article on the business field. Many businesses turn to Forbes for up to date business news and updates to policies at the most successful businesses. With Rachel Hennessey writing for Forbes, it gives a business perspective on the information. The fact that she is openly discussing the idea of tattoos in the workplace is able to help open dialogues between company executives to be able to decide what message the company wants to be able to send to their employees and customers. The line in the articles that talks about the percentage of companies that do not agree with the idea of promoting people with tattoos shows that there is still some level of discrimination against tattooed individuals.
This article was able to not only show the data, but it also was able to show multiple opinions, beyond just the opinion of the author. There are many great examples of how some of the people with tattoos were able to still be successful within their chosen career path, regardless of their tattoos. There was also a very good built of information. There were scattered numerical facts, various opinions, and even information on the writer’s personal opinions about the topic of the article. It showed that the writer was also willing to take a risk in including both supporting and denying the claims that her paper makes. She was willing to touch base on some of the things that people say about wearing tattoos and working in professional settings. She was even willing to point out conflicting issues within the industry, from the fact that they way be willing to hire someone with tattoos to the issues that they have with giving these same people a promotion no matter what their skill level is. She is even willing to go in depth on the fact that a person may not get denied a job, but there is still a higher likelihood that they will end up getting denied for a promotion that they want with n the same company. When the entire article falls into place, it shows that the writer does genuinely feel as though there has been progress made n the area of tattoo acceptance in the work place.
I found that this was article was very interesting and informative. I found that there were many good points made both for and against tattoos in the workplace. There are a lot of interesting thoughts and statistics that do show the writer’s point of view is for the idea that tattoos are becoming more accepted in the workplace. I feel that the writer did a good job in being able to convey her point in a way that was clear and concise. When it comes to the idea of tattoos in the workplace, I do agree that they are becoming more accepted, but I also think that there is still a long way to go to be able to say that they are not frowned upon by companies.
When it comes to the article “Tattoos No Longer a Kiss Of Death in the Workplace”, there are great points and a great format to be able to bring the writer’s opinion out in a way that is entertaining for the readers. Rachel Hennessy did this through choosing to take risks. These risks were able, in her case, to create a great way for her to be able to show all sides of the issue without appearing like she was offering a bias opinion, even though it was clear on where she stood with the issue. The article was a perfect example of a writer that was not afraid of taking risks, because she was willing to do what it took, without regard for the fact that the topic was controversial. She was even ready to write this from an unpopular perspective. She took these risks as a way of making sure that the readers were able to understand what her position was on the particular issue. By going against the grain and taking a risk, her writing this article could potentially create a need for companies to review their own policies, when it comes to the aspect of tattoos in the workplace.
References
Hennessy, Rachel. "Tattoos No Longer A Kiss Of Death In The Workplace". 27 February 2013. 15 October 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2013/02/27/having-a-tattoo-and-a-job/>.
