Tattoo Taboos: Part 1

Picture this, you’re sitting at your cubicle, and your new coworker sets her things down on her desk as HR shows her around, you smile politely and stand to introduce yourself, nothing new so far, you’ve done it a million times.  There’s only one catch…she has tattoos. 

While many millennials and zoomers still remain confused as to why this is a challenge for many older workers, the boomers like ourselves still struggle with old norms.  That’s why we created this handy guide to help you through this workplace transition without committing a faux paus that lands you in the HR hotseat.  And today we will go over the first lesson. 

Step 1.     Connect With the Youth – One of the most important things that seems to be important to young people today, is to not be judged for their choice of tattoos.  Yes, in your day and age, having a tattoo was rebellious, meaning you were in the navy stationed overseas, or perhaps you were a bit mysterious, or had been to prison, or killed a man in a motorcycle club, but today it more than likely it simply means that her name is Ashleigh, and she just thinks that mountains are so cool and trendy from that time she went to Yosemite for a week.  How do you connect with them?  You ask them about their sweet ink.  Take this example. 

“Hello Kaden, I really love your fish arm, can you tell me what it means?”

“Hey Brenda, of course!  All of my tattoos have deep personal meaning.  The koi fish is a strong symbol of rebirth in eastern cultures.” 

“Wow!  That’s so unique Kaden, what did you need to rebirth from?” 

“That’s very personal Brenda, I don’t really talk about it much.” 

“Oh of course…can I ask about the SpongeBob tattoo?” 

“I have some work to do Brenda.” 

“Okay great, talk to you later Kaden!”

This is a perfect example of how to connect and relate to the young people that are flooding your once prestigious office.  Brenda showed that she didn’t judge Kaden, and instead wanted to know more about him.  The kids want to feel accepted and validated, and sometimes we need to do some soul searching ourselves in the older generations to get over our prejudices; after all, that naked woman, sucking a lollypop, wrapped in roses, and barbed wire, with a handgun, has got to have a seriously deep meaning for Marie right?  Right. 

More lessons to come in future posts.