Weight and body image affect several areas of our lives. From dating to sex and confidence, unfortunately, body shame is still very present in society. So much so that, that it turns out that body size can actually impact your career progress.
Body size discrimination very much exists at work and it can lead to leading to stress or unequal treatment, according to a study by Within Health.
Results found that employees with larger bodies felt that their body size affected work decisions made by their bosses, leading 61% to feel like it made them miss out on a promotion. Nearly the same number of people felt they didn’t get a raise or were laid off because of a body size bias at work.
Sadly, over 1 in 10 said their decision to quit their job was linked to their body.
Shockingly, employees in larger bodies were 32% less likely than other employees to have been promoted in the last year. Additionally, they were also 21% less likely to get a raise, and if they did get one, it was 7% less than what other employees received, on average.
However, employees in larger bodies were less likely than others to quit or get laid off.
Dealing with body size discrimination or worries at work could easily make someone feel even more stressed than usual. Work as it is is already stressful – imagine having to worry about your body image too.
On top of this, too much stress can lead to decreased productivity and unhealthy coping habits.
Within Health further analysed how people cope with work-related stress. Many of those surveyed have used healthy ways to cope with or reduce stress, like listening to music, exercising, and meditating or reading.
Employees in larger bodies were 10% more likely than other employees to maintain healthy stress management habits. Although therapy is a powerful tool for maintaining mental health, only 6% of workers said they use it.
Not everyone deals with work-stress well though roughly 1 in 4 workers reported unhealthy habits for managing stress, such as overeating, undereating, and substance abuse.
In addition to regular work stress, some people worry about how their colleagues see them. Remote workers were particularly concerned about this, as most reported feeling uncomfortable showing their entire body on a video call.
This study highlights how body size issues can affect people in the workplace, whether it’s because of outright discrimination, unspoken bias, or personal insecurities.
Managers and employees should recognise any biases they may hold against others based on body size and work to overcome them in order to improve their workplaces.