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Bosses don't really care about your tattoos, a new study says

It used to be that having a tattoo was something to be ashamed of in the workplace: makeup, long sleeves, and anything else to hide them was necessary. Body ink simply wasn't professional.

Bye, Felicia!

More and more people are getting tatted. According to the Pew Research center, 40% of millennials have at least one tattoo. And a new study says that not only are bosses way cooler with showing off your art, it could actually help you land a job.

Researchers from the University of Miami and the University of Western Australia Business School found employers feel indifferent to tattoos, and "long-held stigmas may be eroding ... especially among younger individuals who view body art as a natural and common form of personal expression."

Joann Bisson, CEO of Trademark Federal Credit Union in Scarborough, Maine, is one of those bosses. In her white-collar workplace, you'll find pink hair, nose piercings, and tattoos on full display.

"When most people hear finance, I think people think of the traditional suit and tie," she said.

And for a while, it was. But after an employee survey, she reversed the rules in 2016.

"At first we wondered if there was going to be an issue, but there really wasn't," said Bisson. "What happened was, people started engaging in a way, asking what the tattoos meant to one another, asking, 'Where did you get your tattoos done?'"

Josie McGaw, a bank teller at TFCU, has short pink hair (literally think P!nk) and several tattoos. She said one member of the union comes in and compares tattoos with her, and even looks forward to whatever fun hairstyle she'll rock next.

"My whole thing is, make art an experience. That's why I like to have my tattoo showing because it's my canvas," she said.

Bisson said the rule change only expanded the conversations and the interactions her team was already having with their members.

Chelsea Formica of TFCU has been in finance for six years and said Bisson's rules are extremely rare.

"People want to be able to trust you, and I feel like sometimes there's a stigma with piercings and tattoos," she said. "But as time goes on, more and more people have tattoos and more people have piercings, so it's not as unusual."

As someone with a nose ring, it's one less step in the morning for Formica.

"It's a huge part of us being able to do our job well. We like coming to work and we enjoy being here."

"I think we should accept everyone for who they are," McGaw said. "If they have tattoos, piercings, pink hair, then we should accept that."

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