But You Asked Me to Stare At Your Tattoos

A fascinating discussion is going on at LinkedIn. The simplified version: it's over tattoos. The Complex version: it's over "normal" or "acceptable". Definitely worth a) a read, b) a read on the wide-ranging opinions and c) a discussion here and how it relates to your company, its "culture" and its values. I worked in several companies where the population of staff was on the younger side (use your own definition of what "younger" means). Hence, they (both men and women) for the most part had tattoos versus not having them. Some were small, other large. Some visible always, others depending on what they were wearing and I'm sure even more in swimming attire (and less). Did it stop them from doing their job - no. Did customers or vendors care, not that I'm aware of. Did I like them, immaterial. But as I said, this conversation is more than just tattoos. it can be dress, be it jeans or cut-offs, business casual or the 3 piece suit crowd. My opinion here (which was expressed forcefully at those companies where I was the CFO) was almost anything went except when you looked dirty or disheveled. And we can even expand this to personal idiosyncrasies. Do we not hire someone because of what we perceive to be annoying ticks? How bout because they have turrets or a disability. Or someone who has been convicted of a crime? How do we in our business environment create a diverse workforce that increases ultimately the bottom line. Where do we draw the line?