Short or tall? can looks hinder success

How others perceive us represents the foundation for our career success. Many attributes, such as our conscientiousness, hard work and innovation can lead to stronger career performance.

However, Business Talk continues on its series of how uncontrollable physical attributes can influence careers.

Social scientists know that physical attractiveness in an employee can get them better performance evaluations than their average looking colleagues and earn higher salaries.

Even in the academic world, university students rate attractive lecturers higher on course evaluations than average looking instructors whether the lecturer is a man or a woman.

Also, physical bias based on height shows in research that taller individuals earn a higher salary and get promoted more than shorter workers.

Biology suggests that taller individuals in ancient times could see farther from their higher vantage point and alert families of impending danger from lions and other threats, so we naturally developed a positive bias towards taller individuals.
Also, biologically, in ancient times, sickness and disease were far more prevalent than in today’s modern society. Therefore, attractiveness bias towards non-sick healthy family and clan members led to higher group survival rates.

We know from researchers like Melvyn Hamstra that the taller the male leader, then the more charisma we believe he holds even if absolutely no evidence exists for our sensitivities.

However, the perceptions do not persist with regards to taller versus shorter female leaders. Jens Agerström’s recent study showed that taller job candidates, whether male or female, were presumed by interviewers to possess more competencies in the specific job and better physical health.

Scientists can reasonably expect who will get hired based almost solely on who is taller than other candidates.

Height is more important than actual real competence, warmth, health, and even attractiveness when it comes to job interviews.

Workplace bias based on weight also exists.

Jason Popan and his team uncovered that workers of similar gender and ethnicity were harshest in their criticisms on the controllability of obesity among coworkers and were more forgiving of those different from them.

John Golden, Craig Johnson, and Rebecca Lopez found that female workers perceived themselves to receive more inappropriate sexual harassment in the workplace.

When employees viewed who they deemed as average looking females, the workers thought that all males as equally capable of inappropriate sexual harassment in the workplace towards those females.

However, when workers perceived the particular females were attractive, then the employees felt that the unattractive men more so than the attractive men were likely to harass the attractive women.

So, even without any proof whatsoever, average looking men have a higher likelihood to be blamed for or expected behaviour towards others.

Finally, Corinne Moss-Racusin and Jessica Good found that when managers view their male employees as less masculine acting, then they make assumptions that the man is less healthy, less capable of building relationships, and less professional.

Research shows some techniques for how to overcome attractiveness bias. Katherine Theyson found that when lecturers in universities built stronger positive bonds with their students, then the students stopped focusing on the lecturer’s level of attractiveness and therefore rated the instructor higher. So, strong social bonds can outweigh attractiveness over time.

Bias against less-masculine men can be overturned by males acting more manly in not showing preference for female-stereotyped products, more manly hand gestures, and more brutish styles of standing and walking.

Shorter workers can partially overcome height bias by wearing horizontally stripped clothing giving a perception of being taller and also wearing bold noticeable clothing colour schemes rather than bland outfits.

Next week Business Talk tackles female bias towards wealthy and attractive male coworkers.