It’s an unfortunate fact, but many companies are still quite conservative and place a strong emphasis on appearance. In fact, some companies have policies that expressly forbid employees from having visible tattoos and gauged piercings, which means your stretched-out lobes could immediately disqualify you from a great job.  Not only that but there are definitely employers that are less likely to take you seriously. This means you could get skipped over for a new job or promotion even if the company doesn’t strictly forbid gauged piercings.