Comments on: A hole in the head http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/ A Blog Community for Business Communicators Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:28:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: lmore http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/#comment-13271 lmore Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:09:44 +0000 http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/#comment-13271 Seems a bit draconian to me. A person's outward appearance doesn't always belie the person's competency, initiative, and character. Any company that still uses this as some kind of measure of corporate culture acceptance should probably institute office uniforms if they want to achieve visual monotony. Seems a bit draconian to me. A person’s outward appearance doesn’t always belie the person’s competency, initiative, and character. Any company that still uses this as some kind of measure of corporate culture acceptance should probably institute office uniforms if they want to achieve visual monotony.

]]> By: Wilma Mathews http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/#comment-13270 Wilma Mathews Tue, 12 Jun 2007 21:41:48 +0000 http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/#comment-13270 Pat, Funny you should mention this. I've been thinking lately about the many new and unusal forms of communication--most of which I don't like but at least understand their value to their particular audiences. Tagging (also known as graffiti) is a form of communication that marks territories, gives the tagger a sense of achievement/purpose and costs taxpayers a lot of money to remove. Tagging increases during the summer months when kids aren't in school and get bored with "nothing to do." But, similar to the need for texting, tagging says: "I EXIST!!" Tattoos also are communication, self-identification, symbols of self-worth, messages about life styles and loved ones. Their permanence bothers me because I think there are some people who would like to have an eraser when they wake up the next morning -- or when they turn 50 and wonder why the hell they did it. Piercings have a place in there somewhere -- I'm just not sure where. Pierced ears started out as adornment and now -- at its most extreme -- communicate excess, lack of good judgement and an ability to (a) withstand the pain of creating new holes and (b) plenty of time to load up all those rings. So, yes, piercings and clothings say a lot about a person. I don't think we have the definitions in place yet to know what they say. Pat,

Funny you should mention this. I’ve been thinking lately about the many new and unusal forms of communication–most of which I don’t like but at least understand their value to their particular audiences.
Tagging (also known as graffiti) is a form of communication that marks territories, gives the tagger a sense of achievement/purpose and costs taxpayers a lot of money to remove. Tagging increases during the summer months when kids aren’t in school and get bored with “nothing to do.” But, similar to the need for texting, tagging says: “I EXIST!!”
Tattoos also are communication, self-identification, symbols of self-worth, messages about life styles and loved ones. Their permanence bothers me because I think there are some people who would like to have an eraser when they wake up the next morning — or when they turn 50 and wonder why the hell they did it.
Piercings have a place in there somewhere — I’m just not sure where. Pierced ears started out as adornment and now — at its most extreme — communicate excess, lack of good judgement and an ability to (a) withstand the pain of creating new holes and (b) plenty of time to load up all those rings.
So, yes, piercings and clothings say a lot about a person. I don’t think we have the definitions in place yet to know what they say.

]]> By: Liz http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/#comment-13269 Liz Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:58:47 +0000 http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2007/06/08/a-hole-in-the-head/#comment-13269 In my opinion, dress codes have long been a ripe area for a gender discrimination class action. In the case mentioned, why are women allowed 2 piercings per ear and men none? Begging the question, why are women are limited to two per ear? How is this policed? What if the two piercings per ear are in the daith and the tragus? What if you have six piercings but remore the earrings in excess of two per ear (or wear the "invisible" sort) before coming to work? Is the limit just on ear piercings and silent about eyebrow piercings and the like? There is some line where a style of attire and grooming becomes a distraction in the workplace, but some common sense needs to applied here. And some fairness. In my opinion, dress codes have long been a ripe area for a gender discrimination class action. In the case mentioned, why are women allowed 2 piercings per ear and men none? Begging the question, why are women are limited to two per ear? How is this policed? What if the two piercings per ear are in the daith and the tragus? What if you have six piercings but remore the earrings in excess of two per ear (or wear the “invisible” sort) before coming to work? Is the limit just on ear piercings and silent about eyebrow piercings and the like?

There is some line where a style of attire and grooming becomes a distraction in the workplace, but some common sense needs to applied here. And some fairness.

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