Weight Discrimination and Organizational Policymakers
Despite the efforts of WHO and the numerous health-related campaigns, a significant part of the population remains overweight. According to the official statistical data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), in 2013-2014, 37.9% of people over 20 years old were obese, whereas, together with overweight members of the U.S. population, the target demographic made 70.7% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).
Obesity and weight-related issues are typically viewed as health concerns, yet a range of organizations prefer looking at the subject matter solely from the perspective of aesthetic, making the policies that create a leeway for workplace discrimination against people with excessive weight (Bell, 2011). Numerous prejudices that are linked with the image of an overweight person, such as the idea that people with weight-related health issues are “lazy and unmotivated” (Bell, 2011, p. 485). Therefore, it is crucial to manage weight-related discrimination so that the vulnerable population should not be affected by it and could be judged solely on the merits of their skills.
Therefore, it is crucial that organizations should reconsider their approach toward HRM, particularly, recruiting the staff by selecting the candidates based on their looks. It should be noted, though, that the identified change in the corporate policy will also require a change in the social standards, as well as the perception of people with weight issue in the society. Thus, active promotion of corporate philosophy based on an ethical approach to decision-making in the HRM department should be viewed as a crucial step (Bell, 2011).
Beauty Prejudice in Personal and Professional Life
Though not as notorious as racism and sexism, beauty prejudice also has a tangible effect on the way in which relationships between the key stakeholders are shaped. As a result, people with good looks receive the opportunities of which the demographics will less than stellar appearance is deprived. Therefore, beauty prejudices should be viewed just as harmful as any other form of discrimination that exists in the contemporary society.
In the workplace, beauty prejudices often define the chances of being hired. In case an RH person is incapable of drawing a line between personal impressions and the assessment of the candidate’s skills, the applicant that can be defined as more physically attractive than the rest of the contestants for the job position is likely to get it. Even though the specified phenomenon is more likely to become a significant impediment for women in the workplace, it also affects men to a considerable extent. According to a study conducted by Turner, Willman, and Wright (2016), handsome men have greater opportunities for being hired than the men that do not meet the existing standards of beauty and attractiveness (Turner et al., 2016). Therefore, beauty prejudices affect people significantly in the environment of their workplace.
Similarly, the subject matter defines people’s personal life greatly. With the emphasis on appearance and the prejudices associated with the people that do not have the necessary physical qualities, beautiful people are likely to be praised solely for their looks. As a result, they are unlikely to accomplish any personal growth. Similarly, when being affected by the beauty-related myths, one may be easily deceived by the beautiful appearance and, thus, overlook crucial personal flaws (Turner et al., 2016).
References
Bell, M. P. (2011). Diversity in organizations. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Obesity and overweight. Web.
Turner, S. L., Willman, S. C., & Wright, R. R. (2016). The beautiful and the damned: Exploring the negative side of masculine attractiveness in hiring situations. URJHS, 15(1), 1-4.