Under the skin of workplace bias against body art

Bias around body art in the workplace persists, but the culture is starting to shift

NewsJayde Lazier — Published October 21, 2025 4 minutes

Dr. Gemma Dale, senior lecturer at the Liverpool Business School, first noticed the shift in tattoo taboos in the workplace following a conversation with a tattoo artist who said they were seeing more customers than ever post COVID-19 pandemic.

This, mixed with Dale noticing a reduced sense of formality in work attire during and post-pandemic, prompted her to run a study to see if the shift in reception of body art had  long-term societal effects. 

“The increase of remote and hybrid work has led to a range of unintended or unexpected consequences, and [open displays of body art] appear to be just one of them,” Dale said.

The 2023 study that is being published later this year, entitled “Has the workplace tattoo taboo finally broken – and does WFH play a part?” was conducted by Dale, alongside professor Matthew Tucker and Dr. Hannah Wilson. It reveals that a shift in reception towards body art can be seen in correlation with the pandemic and working from home. 

Though there may still be some negative associations with body art in the workplace, Dale said their research found that attitudes towards tattoos in the workplace might be moving toward “reduced stigma and increased acceptability.” 

Even so, some workers are still experiencing inequity surrounding their body art and piercings. Sofia Leiva is an elementary substitute teacher who has a septum piercing. She said she has concerns about how she might be received if she wore her piercing in the workplace. 

“I would never wear [my piercing] out when I am working on my job as a substitute teacher in an elementary school,” Leiva said. “I’m not even sure I would have gotten the job, had I worn it in the interview.” 

Leiva said these reservations left her feeling discouraged and uncomfortable in her own skin.

“I shouldn’t have to choose between the way I express myself and feeling secure in my job,” she said.

President and founder of Workplace Fairness International Blaine Donais said that a worker’s right to modify their body through tattoos, piercings and other modifications depends on a number of factors. These include the sector of the employer and whether or not in common law jurisdictions in Canada—all jurisdictions except Quebec—employees are unionized.

Donais said that if an employer is a government department, agency, or has “sufficient government nexus,” then employees secure the rights under Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, such as freedom of expression.

“This freedom is not absolute and employers bound by the Charter can often place limits on the appearance of employees that [are] considered a ‘reasonable limit’ under Section 1 of the Charter, and thus these limits are allowed,” Donais added. 

According to him, until an argument can be made that body art is a necessary component of a bona fide religion, it is unlikely that the legal regime will change.

Although body art and piercings are commonly used as a means for personal self-expression, they also have a long history of religious or cultural significance.

Donais said individuals who fall into the category of displaying tattoos for religious or cultural reasons should know there may be some leeway to argue the significance of an individual’s body art.

“The legal obligation in such cases is that the employer must accommodate the employee’s freedom of religion to the point of undue hardship,” Donais said.

Kiljon Shukullari, an HR advisory manager at Peninsula Canada, which provides HR, health and safety, and legal support to businesses across Canada, said there are ways for employers to reduce bias with tattoos and other body modifications.

“HR can help reduce bias by establishing standardized and consistent hiring processes and training managers to recognise unconscious bias,” Shukullari said. 

Shukullari added that this is followed by further training focused on spotting and addressing biases that occur when assessing appearances and style. 

“[This training] helps leaders focus on professionalism and performance, and not personal preference,” Shukullari said. “[It] shapes more inclusive, flexible standards around self-expression at work.” 

Dale acknowledged that sometimes, there may be a genuine reason for appearance policies—but she said they need to be clearly communicated, and should not apply to an entire workforce. The researcher said she advises employers to think about their policies and how they affect workers.

“Wherever possible, organizations should think about how they can create cultures where people can express themselves, be authentic and have autonomy around their appearance as much as possible,” Dale said. “This is the environment in which people will perform the best, [and] have fewer demands and better wellbeing.” 

This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 4, published October 21, 2025.