When you get fired, the most important thing is to put it swiftly behind you. That is going to be quite hard for Jill Abramson, who was sacked as editor of the New York Times last week but who has part of the newspaper’s logo tattooed on her back.

To ink a curly black gothic “T” into your skin is the most tragically misplaced act of loyalty to an employer I’ve ever heard of. It is even less explicable than getting tattooed with the name of a current love. At least then a) there is a chance that the object of your affections will be charmed rather than horrified and b) it is at least possible that the two might stay together forever.

By contrast, to have your employer’s name branded indelibly on to your skin makes no sense at all. Far from being pleased, your boss is more likely to think it creepy and weird. Jobs are not for life any more. All jobs end; often they end badly.