Shikha Mishra, 31, a human resource executive with a mobile phone company, has a phoenix inked on her right shoulder. It was after eight years of working that Mishra decided to get inked. While at work, the HR executive, who probably hands out dress codes to people on not to wear visible body art, decided to get her shoulder tattooed as it stays covered while at work. "It's a visibility issue. No one cares what you have on your body as long as it stays hidden," she says. Plus you look "professional".
Like most of the corporate dress codes - ties, formal pants, jackets - no tattoos at workplace is an unspoken rule. In other words, tattoos are not an issue in a corporate environment, provided they remain unseen. By and large, the consensus is tattoos and workplace don't mix. Maybe because they started as the bastion of the marginalised: gypsies, freak shows, criminals and the non-conformists. It's being the official expression of rebels and hippies that corporate world doesn't look kindly towards it.
Tattoo Trouble
Tattoos are considered to be an under-25 phenomenon with most people going in for an ink by that age. But celebrity tattoo artist and director of Hakim's Aalim Tattoo Lounge, Aalim Hakim, feels that the average age of a tattoo getter is higher in India. "It's not a coming of age thing in India as it is in the West. People actually make a very conscious decision to go in for a tattoo after having given it careful thought," he says. The average age is likely to be above 25.
In fact, the growth of the tattoo trend can be gauged from Hakim's progress. In 2005, he started with a small parlour in Mumbai. Today, he has six tattoo lounges in Mumbai and one each in Hyderabad and Bangalore. "Even in the so-called IT hubs like Bangalore and Hyderabad the demand for tattoos has grown exponentially," he says. In between his many celeb assignments - he's the personal tattoo artist to Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan - Hakim personally fields 3-4 tattoo requests daily.
Given the clean hygienic parlour, good tattoo artists, tattoos are definitely more accessible now, but whether they are acceptable is another matter. Corporate grooming coach and etiquette trainer Yatan Ahluwalia advises that if you have a tattoo, keep it hidden. "Wear dark shirt, full sleeves, leave your hair open or if need be wear makeup to hide it," he says. And this goes double for those working in organisations that are more service oriented like banking, airlines, consulting and hospitality.
The Unwritten Code
A study by job website CareerBuilders found that tattoos are looked as a sign of immaturity, bad judgement and bad taste by managers. Over 42% of managers polled said their opinion of someone would be lowered by that person's visible body art. Three out of four respondents believe that visible tattoos are unprofessional.
Globally, companies prefer written down codes dictating what is acceptable. Starbucks requires employees to cover all tattoos and remove certain piercings. Walt Disney World doesn't allow its employees to use bandages to cover their tattoos, but they can use opaque makeup. Wal-Mart specifies tattoos 'that are offensive or distractive are to be covered by clothing or other means.'
As economist Stephen Levitt pontificates over tattoos in his popular column Freakonomics: "Economists tend to like choices that are reversible. Whatever my current preferences may be, who knows what they will be a week, a year or a decade later? I loved singer Adam Ant when I was in high school, but I'm glad I never tattooed his name on my forearm."
Clearly, body art and boardroom don't mix. "In India, dress codes are unwritten rules but companies that are inward-oriented where the work doesn't involve customer interaction like a BPO or a software firm are more open to such liberties in office dressing," says Uday Sodhi, chief executive officer HeadHonchos.com, a job-search portal focussed exclusively on mid- and senior-management professionals.
Sodhi claims though that Indian workplaces are not very strict about body art policies. "Ultimately, they look at your CV not your tattoo," he says. He's quick to add that anything offensive, too visible or controversial would obviously not be accepted. "Before every tattoo we have a consultation with the client on his nature of work, what tattoo he or she should go for and where should they get it," Hakim says. His advice: The inner upper arm, shoulders, chest or lower back as they stay covered. Either this, or you work for Yash Birla - now here's an industrialist who believes the only ink in the boardroom is not the one in your pen.
Like most of the corporate dress codes - ties, formal pants, jackets - no tattoos at workplace is an unspoken rule. In other words, tattoos are not an issue in a corporate environment, provided they remain unseen. By and large, the consensus is tattoos and workplace don't mix. Maybe because they started as the bastion of the marginalised: gypsies, freak shows, criminals and the non-conformists. It's being the official expression of rebels and hippies that corporate world doesn't look kindly towards it.
Tattoos are considered to be an under-25 phenomenon with most people going in for an ink by that age. But celebrity tattoo artist and director of Hakim's Aalim Tattoo Lounge, Aalim Hakim, feels that the average age of a tattoo getter is higher in India. "It's not a coming of age thing in India as it is in the West. People actually make a very conscious decision to go in for a tattoo after having given it careful thought," he says. The average age is likely to be above 25.
In fact, the growth of the tattoo trend can be gauged from Hakim's progress. In 2005, he started with a small parlour in Mumbai. Today, he has six tattoo lounges in Mumbai and one each in Hyderabad and Bangalore. "Even in the so-called IT hubs like Bangalore and Hyderabad the demand for tattoos has grown exponentially," he says. In between his many celeb assignments - he's the personal tattoo artist to Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan - Hakim personally fields 3-4 tattoo requests daily.
Given the clean hygienic parlour, good tattoo artists, tattoos are definitely more accessible now, but whether they are acceptable is another matter. Corporate grooming coach and etiquette trainer Yatan Ahluwalia advises that if you have a tattoo, keep it hidden. "Wear dark shirt, full sleeves, leave your hair open or if need be wear makeup to hide it," he says. And this goes double for those working in organisations that are more service oriented like banking, airlines, consulting and hospitality.
The Unwritten Code
A study by job website CareerBuilders found that tattoos are looked as a sign of immaturity, bad judgement and bad taste by managers. Over 42% of managers polled said their opinion of someone would be lowered by that person's visible body art. Three out of four respondents believe that visible tattoos are unprofessional.
Globally, companies prefer written down codes dictating what is acceptable. Starbucks requires employees to cover all tattoos and remove certain piercings. Walt Disney World doesn't allow its employees to use bandages to cover their tattoos, but they can use opaque makeup. Wal-Mart specifies tattoos 'that are offensive or distractive are to be covered by clothing or other means.'
As economist Stephen Levitt pontificates over tattoos in his popular column Freakonomics: "Economists tend to like choices that are reversible. Whatever my current preferences may be, who knows what they will be a week, a year or a decade later? I loved singer Adam Ant when I was in high school, but I'm glad I never tattooed his name on my forearm."
Clearly, body art and boardroom don't mix. "In India, dress codes are unwritten rules but companies that are inward-oriented where the work doesn't involve customer interaction like a BPO or a software firm are more open to such liberties in office dressing," says Uday Sodhi, chief executive officer HeadHonchos.com, a job-search portal focussed exclusively on mid- and senior-management professionals.
Sodhi claims though that Indian workplaces are not very strict about body art policies. "Ultimately, they look at your CV not your tattoo," he says. He's quick to add that anything offensive, too visible or controversial would obviously not be accepted. "Before every tattoo we have a consultation with the client on his nature of work, what tattoo he or she should go for and where should they get it," Hakim says. His advice: The inner upper arm, shoulders, chest or lower back as they stay covered. Either this, or you work for Yash Birla - now here's an industrialist who believes the only ink in the boardroom is not the one in your pen.
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