According to a recent article, an increasing number of employers have had to revamp their dress codes to accomodate the number of workers with tattoos and piercings. Since about 50% of people in their 20s have at least one tattoo or non-ear piercing, the odds are pretty high that most businesses employ one or more workers with some form of body art.

Not too long ago, visible tattoos or piercings would have been a serious workplace no-no. Most dress codes didn't strictly forbid them, but required all tattoos to be covered and any non-traditional piercings to be removed during work hours. However, since many companies are eager to hire fresh, young talent, they have had to decide whether or not these "personal statements" have a place within their corporate culture.

Many businesses are allowing more leeway when it comes to body art in order to keep their young employees happy and to position themselves as hip and adaptable, rather than a stodgy, corporate "assembly line." Helping these firms along is the growing dependence on email correspondence, web meetings and conference calls, which has led to a decreasing need for face-to-face client contact. In these laid-back, business casual environments, nose rings and ankle tattoos finally get to bask in the flourescent light.

Obviously, there are some industries where body art will never be accepted. It's doubtful that a successful law firm would hire an attorney with a snake tattoo on his neck. Nor are we likely to see a stockbroker with more jewelry on his face than a Zulu warrior. Even with an amazing education and impressive qualifications, these fellas just wouldn't get the job. It's not a case of discrimination, it's just deciding what's good for business. If you know your clients as well as you should, you'll know what they will and won't accept from your employees.

This is one more issue that directly relates to employer branding. As I mentioned before, tattoos and body bling are personal statements. If you are a company that promotes individuality and innovation, your brand most likely allows for a more lax dress code. If you are a firm with a well-defined structure and very specific values that each employee must embody, perhaps you're not ready for the body art revolution.

Of course, you could really take branding to the extreme and allow employees to sport tattoos - as long as they are of your company logo. While it's certainly a controversial enough policy to land yourself on the evening news, we'd have to advise you against it! Don't worry, we have much better ideas...