Do looks really matter in the workplace? In a society often times first impressions are everything, an undesirable look can get off to a less advantageous start. According to Aristotle, personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction. Experiments have shown that we consider attractive people "as more sociable, dominant, sexually warm, mentally healthy, intelligent, and socially skilled" than unattractive people ("Attractive People Are More Successful - Business Insider," n.d.). The fact that you can be well qualified and highly educated for a particular position can seem dismal if you are up against someone who is better looking. How might your looks affect your pay? “Beauty premiums” exists in the workplace, where physically attractive workers garner higher wages and are considered more employable ("Career Advisors," n.d.) It is somber to think that being unattractive could have a damper on an individual’s cooperate advancement. Although appearance should not speak for an individual's competence it often transpires this way. Discrimination based on looks is legal unlike religion, race and disabilities, it is simply unjustified. First Impressions From the first day at a new job, people are judged on the clothes they wear, the car they drive and many other details that set them apart …show more content…
A resume service online mentioned adisfigurement can be ditracting.if an interviewer is drawn to something on your face verses your eyes , It reduces your ability to win over the intervirewer, it is irritating to look at you and the interview may wonder if your appearance will lose the company clients by creating a negative impression.” ("When It Comes To Job Interviews Looks Really Do Matter | Resume Mag," n.d.) Image 2 shows a man with a large mole on his face, this image was on the cover of ResumeMag with a caption that read “looks do
Today’s job seeker has tough competition. In the textbook reading “Judging by the Cover” by Bonny Gainley, she argues that job seekers ought to be careful when they make personal choices that initially will affect their chances of entering the workplace. People have a need to be accepted by others just the way they are, but many of us were taught as adolescence that we should not judge a book by its cover, yet people judge others solely on their personal appearances. That goes for businesses as well, “[t]he bottom line is that businesses exist to make money. Whether it seems fair or not, generally employers do care about the personal appearances of the people they hire because those people represent the business to its customers” (5). Maybe
In today’s job market, there are many reasons an individual could be turned down for employment. According to Deborah Rhodes, author of “Why looks are the last bastion of discrimination”, appearance should not be one of them. Rhodes is a law professor at Stanford and holder of numerous titles for her outstanding work in legal matters. She is also the author and co-author of over 250 articles (Directory). In this article, she addresses an issue with profound impact on today’s society. She proposes that appearance discrimination should be included in anti-discrimination laws in addition to what is already accepted and legalized in today’s workplace. While it is a seemingly “silly” concern, it is actually quite valid. There has been many a concern over discrimination. That is, discrimination based on race, color, gender, and others of a similar nature in the work environment.
Hosoda, M., Stone-Romero, E. F., & Coats, G. “The effects of physical attractiveness on job-related outcomes: A meta-analysis of experimental studies”. Personnel Psychology, 56 (2003): 431-462.
In the realm of work the appearance of someone’s body has a significant impact on their success according to Lorber and Yancey. In the text it was emphasized how height is idealized in the work world because it shows authority and being superior to peers and competition. Weight, height, race and jaw shape all are characteristics that have been observed to play a particular role in decision-making for leaders, e.g. the men with looks far from ideal had rarely moved up in military status in comparison to those with more idealized looks (253).
Facial symmetry is also linked to agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness, so good looking people generally find it easier to make friends and hold down jobs. Attractive people are most likely to succeed because some companies are looking for models to be on their cover of their magazines. They are always making money just to be on a cover of a book that people always complain about and they would just say that should I try this product do you think it will help my suborn fat and try to lose it by taking this daily with food or water. Researchers say that they can tell if people are attractive or unattractive because they watch guys looking at women and giving facial expressions to tell the other person what they think about the girl or
In the case study “If Looks Could Kill”, the hiring process is down to three candidates: Jamal, Tanya, and Darrell. The Hiring committee has to decide which candidate to rule out. All of the committee members agree that this is a difficult decision expect for one. One member of the committee speaks up and says that they think Darrell has to be the one ruled out because of his poor looks. The decision to rule out Darrell based on his looks is the main ethical issue. There are also a few secondary issues that include the student’s reaction to Darrell after his teaching demonstration, the study on physical attractiveness and success, and the question one weather or not physical attractiveness should be a deciding factor on weather or not to hire someone. Below is a chart that includes an analysis of options the hiring committee can make and the people affected by the decision.
However, another article from Science Daily entitled “Hiring Practices Influenced by Beauty” explains that the decisions of what people hire are being affected by The Halo Effect, too. This article makes clear that hiring practice...
Melissa Nelson, a dental assistant in Iowa, experienced her workplace to be a place where she was judged by her looks and not by her skill level. She was fired because her boss thought that she was too attractive and too threatening to his marriage. Therefore, she was fired for her appearance, not because she did something wrong (Kimmel). An article in The Washington Post expresses beauty’s role in work perfectly: just like goldilocks’ porridge, you can’t be too unattractive or too beautiful, you have to be just right (Rampell). Ms. Nelson’s experience is proof that beauty is not all it’s cracked up to be at
In a growing world, relying on education and intelligence, judgments in a social environment are still continuously based off of appearance. A study of the importance of outer looks was produced through a TV game show. Contestants fought to answer questions correctly to improve their personal score. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score was asked to eliminate a team member. Although many times an unattractive player would have higher scores and could be more beneficial than another teammate, only 27% of unattractive members were chosen to advance to the next round (Belot, Bhaskar, and van de Ven 852-853). When society overlooks qualities and characteristics of high value for looks, discrimination conquers.
One of the biggest problems in today’s society that is causing separation is discrimination based on looks. The virtual of people is constantly decreasing due to greed and selfishness. Discrimination is defined as unfair. In Greenhouse article,” Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination.” Marshal Cohen says that there is nothing wrong with hiring people that fit a company’s image.
There is a famous saying that states, “ we should not judge a book by its cover”, but oftentimes the first thing noticed on a person is their looks. One’s “physical beauty” strongly influences people’s first impressions of them. As a whole, we tend to assume that pretty people are more likeable and better people than those who are unattractive. Around the world, we believe that what is beautiful is good. There is a general consensus within a culture about what is considered physically appealing and beautiful. “Physical beauty” is associated with being more sociable, intelligent, and even socially skilled. Society shares this common notion of who has and who does not have “physical beauty”. Thus, “physical beauty”, as seen
This essay elaborates on the importance of physical appearance of an individual as a criterion for personal development and success in a career.
As the practice is becoming increasingly popular, mainstream acceptance has given birth to a society that values appearance over ability and ultimately leading on to discrimination in practically every field. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that indicates that appearance has become a vital contributor of success at the workplace and even in educational institutions for that matter. A study by researchers from Rice University and the University of Houston indicated that candidates with facial scars and blemishes faced lower odds of being remembered by their interviewers which lowered their ratings and evaluations (as cited in ...
...th their appearance but when it comes to having and keeping the job, it is the employers basis on who and how you are as a person. A person’s physical appearance reflects oneself, how he or she carries himself or herself. It shows how confident the person is. With professional appearance, it could higher your chances of getting hired, keeping your job, good customer service, and most importantly a positive outlook on yourself.
Employment discrimination legislation has evolved to include race, disabilities, sexual harassment of either gender, and age. In lieu of this evolution and an increasing trend toward equality for all individuals in the workplace, the time has come for the protective reach of employment discrimination law to cover ugliness. While the proposal may cause titters at first, evidence exists that discrimination based on looks (or physical appearance) occurs in the workplace. An investigation was conducted by ABC’s 20/20 news program in 1994 that sent two men and two women into the workplace to secure the same jobs (Sessions 1). The individuals were coached to act in a similar manner during the interviews and took with them resumes with matching education and experience. The only difference was that one of the men and one of the women was superior in physical attraction to their counterpart. The results demonstrate whether intentional or not, looks discrimination does play a role in the employment process “In five cases out of five, the more attractive woman got the job; in three chances out of three, the more attractive man was hired” (Sessions 1).