Most people have long-held ideas about what they find appealing in another human being. Whether it is a physical characteristic such as blue eyes or a personal trait such as a sense of humor, we are all attracted to…whatever we are attracted to.

That’s why I find it interesting that these same personal characteristics may also have an impact on employment and recruiting.

In fact, in a previous blog posting I spoke about the importance of establishing recruiting and interviewing practices that afforded all candidates an equal opportunity.

Well, here are some statistics from the Council on Weight and Size Discrimination that go further to shed light on employment discrimination:  

• Workers who are heavier than average are paid $1.25 less an hour.

• Slightly heavy women make about 6% less in wages than standard weight women. Very heavy women make 24% less.

• Heavier workers are not given raises as often as thinner workers.

• Young women (18 to 25) who are larger than average, earn 12% less than their thinner counterparts.

• Of people who were 50% or more above their “ideal” weight on the height-weight charts, 26% reported they were denied benefits such as health insurance, and 17% reported being fired or being pressured to resign because of their weight.

As unfortunate as these findings are, it comes as no surprise that in our image-conscious society, someone who doesn’t fit our physical ideal appears not to fit our business model.

Another perception I want to debunk has to do with attitude. Because I just found out I now have an excuse to be grumpy at work!

In a December 2006 article from ScienceNOW being in a good mood is fine if you’re working on something that is creative. However, being grouchy or sad may work better for mundane tasks because it tends to narrow your attention and help you focus.

That just pushed the concept of whistle while you work right out the window.

What this all goes to show is the importance of keeping an open mind not only when it comes to recruiting, but also when it comes to perceptions in general.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 12th, 2007 at 10:30 am and is filed under Recruiting, Equal Opportunity. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.