Job hunting is about as easy as doing a 1000 piece puzzle in a windstorm. Most of us know that. It’s ranked up there with moving house as one of the least enjoyed parts of life. So we hardly need employers to make it less desirable.
And yet, here we are.
An Australian study (in conjunction with researchers in Hawaii) has found obese job seekers are consistently ranked lower than those in a more average weight range. That’s ranked on their suitability for the position, how much money they deserve and their overall ’employability’.
Yes, yes. Maybe the study subjects just had different skills so that’s why those asked to rank them came up with different results? That would make some sense except the researchers used the same job seekers pre and post surgery to see if their sudden weight drop affected their chances.
It did. Remember: it’s the same person.
Here’s how it went down according to lead researcher Dr Kerry O’Brien:
“We used pictures of women pre-and post-bariatric surgery, and varied whether participants saw a resume that had a picture of an obese female attached, or the same female but in a normal weight range having undergone bariatric surgery,” Dr O’Brien said.
“We found that obesity discrimination was displayed across all selection criteria, such as starting salary, leadership potential and likelihood of selection for the job.
Let’s unpack that a little, shall we?
Same person. Same resume. Different weight.
Here is proof – not just anecdotal evidence which has existed for years – that heavier people (and women in particular) are given a value of worth that is inversely proportional to the number on a set of scales.
Here is actual data that reveals an unsettling mindset that could be true of many: we think fat people are sub-standard. At least in the job market.
But we intuitively knew that already, right? So the question, now, is: what the actual hell do we do about it?
Have you experienced discrimination in the workplace because of your weight? What happened?
Top Comments
The reality is recruitment is a timely & costly process & no-one wants to get it wrong. Interviews exist to assist the recruiter to weed out the right candidate because frankly CVs can lie or hide glaring flaws that may affect someone's suitability for a job. Ultimately recruiters are making a decision on the best candidate for the job based on the person's CV, references & attributes. An hour is unlikely to reveal if someone is lazy, dishonest, unmotivated etc so people revert to judgements whether right or wrong. A young girl dressed 'inappropriately' may be perceived as immature, an older gentleman may be seen as wading to retirement & a pregnant woman may be seen as another lengthy recruitment process down the line. The same way someone may see an obese person as someone who may need more sick leave. I'm not even getting into the reasons for obesity but if we are told obesity can be a result of either diet, lack of exercise or a medical condition (including medications) then the general assumption could be that the person may be a liability. Either way they have a visible flag for recruiters whether right or wrong. Discrimination? Yes. But mitigating risk is good business acumen & if faced with 2 suitable candidates you will always take the option that is perceived to be least risky. Just a business reality & everyone is faced by it. Let's now do a study on the likelihood of getting an interview before & after you change your foreign name etc I'm sure the findings would be similar there again & so on. You get my point I hope...
For what it's worth, when I've had to do any hiring, I find myself discriminating against smokers. I have some good friends who are smokers - along with my mum and brother - but in my head, smokers are not people I want to work with. I think of them as being weak, dependent, and suspect that they'll always be sneaking out for breaks. That doesnt mean that I hate (or even dislike) smokers in general. But for whatever reason, I have deep-seated feelings that do cause me to discriminate.
So I guess discrimination is everywhere, in many guises.