A new survey shows that employees are getting the message that plenty of bosses find visible tattoos or body piercings objectionable in the workplace. So add body art to the other impediments to getting a job: ageism, sexism, outdated skills, or even resembling the job recruiter’s nasty neighbor.

“Some would argue that they (tattoos) are a legitimate form of self expression and shouldn’t be regulated by an employer,” says Mark Oldman, Co-founder and President of career site and publisher Vault.com, which did the survey. “While they may be less unsavoury now, they still can carry a counter-culture.”

Of 468 employees who were online respondents to Vault’s 2007 Tattoo and Body Piercing Survey, 85 per cent said, yes, such body decorations impede a candidate’s chance of getting the job, a  jump up from just 19 per cent who said that in the 2001 survey.

While 42 per cent of this year’s respondents said they have at least one tattoo and/or body piercing, apart from pierced ears, more than half say they are discreet about it at work. That may be because bosses are cracking down.

The percentage of respondents saying they’re aware of their employers’ official policies on tattoos and piercings has doubled to 16 from the eight who said that six years ago.

Lucille Mavrokefalos, Director of HR consulting at Portnoy Messinger Pearl & Associates in Syosset, says she can’t think of one employee handbook she’s written or updated in this past year that does NOT have some language related to body art. 

Certainly an employer’s receptivity to body art differs from industry to industry. And in a small number of cases, a tattoo can actually work in your favour, says Mr Oldman, who points to an Apple or Nintendo tattoo for those working at those companies.