Tattooed employees in the modern workplace: navigating judgement and acceptance, and the impact of changing work patterns

Tucker, M ORCID: 0000-0003-0363-5573, Dale, G ORCID: 0000-0003-4746-6177 and Wilson, HK ORCID: 0000-0002-9437-2053 (2025) Tattooed employees in the modern workplace: navigating judgement and acceptance, and the impact of changing work patterns. Personnel Review. pp. 1-16. ISSN 0048-3486

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Abstract

Purpose Hannah Wilson This research explores perceptions of tattoo acceptability in the workplace from the perspective of those who have them. It further considers how increases in remote working arrangements have influenced workplace tattoo acceptance. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative survey was used to collect data from 435 tattooed individuals. Data were analysed thematically, allowing for nuanced insights into employees' personal experiences, utilising the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory as a theoretical framework. Findings Attitudes towards tattoos in the workplace may be changing, resulting in reduced stigma and increased acceptability. This research demonstrates how tattoos can act as both a job demand and resource, depending on the orientation of the organisation and others. Furthermore, tattooed individuals engage in perception management and a form of aesthetic labour to counteract negative perceptions. Visible tattoos in the workplace retain negative connotations, amounting to a job demand that can negatively influence wellbeing. Increased remote working has provided more freedom to tattooed individuals. Practical implications The findings from this study provide practical guidance to Human Resources practitioners concerning appearance policies and organisational culture. Originality/value The research expands extant knowledge on the perception of tattoos in the workplace. Although previous research has examined perceptions of tattoos in the workplace and tattoo stigma in particular, research to date has not considered the influence of changing work patterns.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1503 Business and Management; 1605 Policy and Administration; 1701 Psychology; Industrial Relations; 3505 Human resources and industrial relations; 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour; 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5001 Business H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Liverpool Business School
Publisher:	Emerald
Date of acceptance:	28 October 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	2 December 2025
Date Deposited:	02 Dec 2025 12:09
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2025 12:09
DOI or ID number:	10.1108/pr-10-2024-0870
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27657

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