The media on being fat and getting a job...

By Heather

I decided to look into whatever I could find on the employment prospects of fat people in the developed world. This is what I found:

A daily mail article reported that:

• Fat people lose out in the work place because employers assume that they will be lazy;
• Overweight workers earn less than their trimmer colleagues and are more likely to be bullied or overlooked for promotion;
• In a poll of 200 bosses, a quarter of men said they would turn down a candidate purely based on weight and 10% admitted that they had already done so;
• 1 in 4 overweight people say they have suffered negative comments about their weight while at work (I have too and yes, it hurt although it was just the once).

Having gained a lot of weight following the death of her grandmother, a highly qualified woman interviewed by the Daily Mail said, "When you are fat, they assume you must be stupid and lazy, because only a stupid, lazy person would allow themselves to get so big."

A Forbes report assimilates various studies:

• Weight-based discrimination affects every aspect of employment: hiring, firing, promotions, pay allocation, career counselling and discipline but the bias is most prominent during hiring.
  Why? During the hiring phase the employer knows the potential employee the least and is therefore more likely to be driven by stereotypes.
• When the average white woman gains 64 pounds, her (relative) wage falls by 9%;
• Overweight white women are evaluated more harshly than overweight African American women; other studies have found that obesity tends to lower the self-esteem of white women much more than that of black women;
• Obesity can lower a woman's earnings by as much 6.2% and a man's by as much as (only) 2.3%.

​Indeed, American employers seem to have some stats to back up their discrimination against overweight people: between 1997 and 2004, obese workers:

• filed twice as many workers' compensation claims
• had seven times the medical costs
• took 13 times more sick days than other employees (a UK study has also found that obese people take more sick days).

In addition, the average medical-claims costs per 100 employees was $51k for the obese and $7.5k for the non-obese.

An article by The Guardian summarises the phenomenon as follows: Fat people are regarded as less successful at restraint. Fat bodies (are deemed) - less worthy, less capable and less employable.

Fat-hate is so pervasive in Western society although it's so superficial. I would like to think that in hiring someone I would ignore what they look like and focus exclusively on their ability to perform a certain role. For many roles, what you look like doesn't and shouldn't matter. Sadly, overweight people often share the bias against them and that impacts on their self esteem and confidence.

When it comes to fatness, I prefer to focus more on health factors rather than on aesthetics. Health consequences are more real and if you're obese that should really be your key concern. Being fit means you can run around with your kids, you'll live longer and you're less likely to get any obesity-related illnesses.

Whatever your size, love yourself and know your value as a person.

Peace and chicken grease,
Heather

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​Although your personal finances and your business success are my primary interest, I believe you only operate at peak efficiency when you're fit and healthy. If you feel good, it filters through to your work. To help you with that, click for your free ebook: The Quick Guide to Sexy
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