The rates of obesity have increased significantly in the recent past due to factors such as the sudden change of lifestyle and poor feeding habits. People rarely engage in physical exercises despite the poor diet. According to a recent report, people’s body mass index, which determines whether a person is obese, has been reported as being higher than the recommended thus implying the cases of obesity have risen. Obesity has similarly become undesirable in the society as obese people continue to experience discrimination in the social set up. It has therefore proved difficult for the obese people to fit in as they are not acceptable in various places such as learning institutions, and workplaces among others.This paper aims to examine the causes of bias associated with weight in the workplaces, the perceptions of the society regarding obesity as well as the measures that ought to be implemented to reduce stigmatization resulting from obesity in workplaces and the community.
Key words: Obesity, weight, hiring
Weight Influence in Hiring
Introduction
Weight bias has significantly increased up to more than 66% from early 1990’s to the mid-2000. According to a research carried out by a local university in the United States, majority of American the population is currently overweight . Discrimination they face based on weight has overpowered discrimination resulting from factors such as disability, sexual orientation and ethnicity among others. Notably, there is no federal guidance and litigation to protect the overweight-related bias in workplaces despite the existence of such evidence. Prejudice affects the psyches and motivation of obese people which prevents them from trying new things and performing better in the workplaces.It also leads to stigmatization in their places of work with most of the fat people experiencing isolation, ridicule and negative perceptions such as being greedy and lazy.
Methodology
Data was collected using the Google Scholar database using weight, bias associated with weight , stigma, workplace, social set up and employment as the keywords.
Bias in Workplaces
Overweight and obesity often attract some undesirable social consequences. People with weight issues usually face stigma and bias in the society often being victims of negative attitudes in most social places. Bias and prejudice may occur in different forms that affect the interpersonal interactions such as stereotypes, ridicule, name-calling and physical stigma among others (Fikka & Rothblum, 2005 p. 55). A number of overweight people have expressed concerns,especially after job interviews whereby a previously successful candidate was declined a job opportunity upon meeting their prospective employees. They attribute their appearances as the primary causes of such denial of opportunities and discrimination, which has been prevailing in the past and recent years. A meta-analysis by Mark Roehling indicates that weight-based prejudice customarily impacts all areas of employment from hiring, firing, career counseling, discipline, pay allocation, and promotion among others. Weight bias is most evident during hiring when the person offering empolyment is less informed about an employee thus he/she is influenced by stereotypes regarding overweight people such as being lazy, non-performers, anti-social among others (Rudolph et al, 2009, p.3).
The rise in prejudice rates among people with obesity has been noted to be mainly on women. In an experimental study in employment settings , sixty-five percent of women reported cases of discrimination as compared to the thirty-five percent of men (Fikka & Rothblum, 2005 p. 65). Thus, it is in correct to deduce that bias based on weight affects women disproportionately.The majority of obese people in the population are ladies and they have to endure more discriminatory practices and remarks more than their male counterparts.
There has been a perception of weight about gender with some studies attributing that women tend to be less physically active than men and that after childbirth, many of them find it difficult to lose weight. In addition, they face cruel judgment from the society due to failing to meet the ideal standards of physical attractiveness, which is expected to be higher than that of men (Fikkan & Rothblum, 2005 , p.60). Also , a correlation exists between obesity and remuneration in that, if a woman gains more than 60 pounds, her wages are likely to lower by 9 percent or more. Another research revealed that obesity could lower the earnings of a woman by 6.2% annually compared to 2.3% of a man (Rudolph et al, 2009, p.5).
Most of these women that face discrimination usually find it difficult to differentiate the reasons behind it, whether it is due to gender or weight, or even both. It is possible that women may be discriminated based on weight and gender, but there are other factors that equally contribute to bias such as disability, sexual orientation, race, and the nation of origin. For instance, the Mexican-American and the Africans- Americans women have been observed and identified as to posses elevated obesity rates compared to the white women (Agne et al, 2012 p. 1065).
In the United States, a new report by the Conference Board, the employers especially in the private sector are seemingly concerned about obesity in the workplaces due to the cost associated with it (Tunceli et al, 2006, p.1635). It further indicates that most of these companies spend approximately 45 billion dollars annually in work losses and expenditure used in medical insurance. In addition to that spending, it shows that in more than a decade, the obese worker had filed compensations claims more than the no-obese people, they had more medical costs and had lost many working days due to work injuries or other illnesses. Besides, according to these report, a sampled 100 employees medical claims added up to approximately 51,000 dollars for the obese as compared to 7500 dollars for the non-obese on the average (Tunceli et al, 2006, p.1635).
In addition, in Britain, some employers were interviewed on their attitudes towards obese workers, and most of them responded negatively regarding employing a fast worker. They perceived the obese workers as less productive terming them lazy and unable to perform the duties allocated to them as well as being unfit for a business environment
Causes of Weight Bias In Employment
The workplaces have been identified as a den for overweight and obese discrimination by many studies and research. There is evidence of insensitivity, inequity, and prejudice to the affected persons. Further studies indicate that employers often have stereotypic attitudes regarding the obese people thus they are generally at a disadvantage even before an interview is conducted. In an experimental study aimed at examining the perception of the employees on the obese people using written description and photographs, people fitting the description of average weight were found suitable to make better managers and supervisors while the overweight and obese received criticism and cruel judgments( Rothblum et al, 1988, p.280) . The study was followed by another one where ten fictitious women were selected with descriptions that varied in weight, stereotypical and associated with obesity and being thin (Rothblum et al, 1988, p.280
The participants in the study indicated that they were more willing to work with the thin people while the least participants opted for the obese people. In yet another study where there was an opening for a sales and business opportunities, the applicants were required to submit written descriptions whereby the results showed a significant number of obese women receiving cruel judgment as opposed to the non-obese women( Rothblum et al, 1988, p.283 In addition to the harsh judgment, the obese women were rated as people who lack self-discipline, have poor personal hygiene, poor professional appearance and a lower supervisor skill(Strauss, 2000 p.15). The same applied for the positions of the front office who were considered as having lean bodies and professional appearances as compared to the obese people.
It is evident that the obese population is vulnerable to the negative evaluations and ultimately faces discrimination in their places of work whenever they succeed in getting any form of employment primarily because of their weight. It is also evident that the several institutions as well as the society, base their negative evaluation and judgment to the obese people on unfounded and unfair stereotypes which should not be the case. People with obesity should be employed based on their qualifications, competencies, and ability to perform a specific task.Also, they should be subject to equal treatment with the others especially while promoting, demoting or firing. Obesity should never be used as the tool to determine such actions in the workplaces.
Additionally, these stereotypes ought to change to create an inclusive society for all. The fear and prejudice held by people regarding obesity have contributed to vices in the community such as the discrimination as well as hindering the relevant authorities from implementing the strategies concerned with the fight against obesity. Weight discrimination has led to some consequences among them being the inability to survive social relationships as obese people experience bias in many social setups( Wada et al, 2005, p.1093).
For instance, in public restaurants, an obese person might be condemned for eating like the regular people as he/she may be seen as contributing to his eating style thus might be a victim of harsh judgment(Puhl & Brownell, 2002, p.110). Sadly, many people are misinformed thus attribute obesity and overweight conditions to overfeeding and greed disregarding other factors such as genetics, and medications among others.Other consequences include the lack of opportunities in social settings such as schools and employment firms and the degradation of their health as they continually face discrimination in the healthcare institutions(Mason & Schroeder, 2010, p.188)
Weight discrimination in the employment sector has had a massive impact on the obese employees regarding their wages, promotions and the termination of contracts of work. The employers and colleagues normally assume that the overweight people According to a study that was involved adults of 18 years and above revealed that the penalty wage for obese employees was significant. Obese employees received lower wages for the similar duties executed by workers who were not obese, obese employees were promoted in smaller numbers, and they were not likely to be hired in high ranks(Larkin usually lack the self-discipline, emotionally unstable, disagreeable, messy, incompetent and lazy(Hebl &Mannix, 2003, P.34). They are also believed to be slow thinkers, make poor role models as well as holding poor records of attendance. As a result of these stereotypes their wages, termination, and promotion are significantly affected.
& Pines,1979, p. 320). Overweight men and women face obstacles related to wages even though it happens in different forms. In detailed examination by a national survey, it was revealed that in a sampled population of more than 8000 people, 12% of obese women did not earn as much as the non-obese counterparts suggesting that the economic penalty is primarily aimed to affect the women. (Østbye et al, 2010,p.245) In addition, more overweight women were most likely to hold low-paying jobs that the thin women, while it also suggested that overweight women 6000 dollars less than the non-obese women do .(Larkin & Pines,1979, p. 322) Social bias and discrimination have been identified as the leading causes of the lower wages among the obese women
On the other hand, men with obesity have been reported not to receive such a wag penalty as women but face discrimination in other ways.They are often less remunerated as compared to the men that are not obese and are overly underrepresented in professional, supervisory and managerial positions. They are over-represented in sectors such as transportation. Therefore, as opposed to obese women who in most cases get a pay cut, the obese men are bound to occupational sorting which is also discriminatory(Giel, 2010, p.37)
Moreover, an experimental study conducted showed that the obese employees had been rated to have lower chances of being promoted in the workplaces compared to their male counterparts. According to that study, a team of managerial and supervisory staff was to evaluate the potential of a promotion to hypothetical employees one who was disabled and the other one was obese. The obese employee was rated with lower promotion recommendations as opposed to the disabled employee.
In addition, there is not much research that shows the benefits obese employees receive. However, a self-conducted study revealed that people with obesity had been denied health insurance benefits due to their weight while others were sent on compulsory leave because of the same. These workers often perceive that they have been sent on these leaves or suspended due to their obesity ( Rothblum et al, 2001)
Perceptions of Obesity by the Society
Various perceptions exist in the society regarding people with obesity. According to several studies, there is evidence that most of the Americans especially in the north have negative perceptions of people with obesity, and sadly, it is usually acceptable and encouraged(Puhl et al, 2013, p.774).
Other than the negative stereotypes, various channels such as the media shape the opinion of the people regarding obesity. The media is partly responsible for the stigmatisation of people with obesity. Many of the media sources that include the programmes on weight loss, animations , books and movies have always reported and represented the overweight people in a way that leads to stigma(Cogan et al, 1996, p106).
The mass media in most cases has represented obese people negatively making it seem as if subjecting them to stigma is accepted by the society. According to a recent study, the media often represent overweight individuals as being unable to fit in the society due to their in appropriate eating and clothing(Cogan et al, 1996, p107).
In most of these media industries, rarely do we see obese people working for them in news castings among other roles that are viewed by the public(Cogan et al, 1996, p105). Such people work in departments that are rarely accessed by the public and in some instances use the images of the obese people as examples of poor health and living style. Owing to their wide range of reaching the audience, they should develop messages that promote healthy living among people and help in reducing the weight bias in the places of work(Cogan et al, 1996, p107).
Interventions to curb Obesity Stigmatization
Notably, regardless of the vast evidence of discrimination of obese people in the society, there are no established laws that prohibit this discrimination in work places. Except in Michigan where discrimination in employment is not allowed, and California, that provides definition of weight in the discriminatory practises,no other rule that prohibits the discrimination of obese individuals. In addition, there are states in the United States such as San Francisco, Madison and Washington D.C that prohibit(Swami et al, 2008, p, 970).There needs to be more on public policy interventions that will look into the interests of the overweight people. The federal government should set the pace on how they should be treated equally in the all the social setups.The researchers and the health experts should work hand in hand with the authorities to help in the formulation of policies that focus on the employers and the motivational factors that will lead to the creation of healthy and safer programs in the workplaces. This implies that their research will be based in the identification of the employer’s monetary constraints and perceptions regarding people with obesity so that to develop policies that will aim at decreasing the weight bias in the workplace as well as improving the health of the employees( Swami et al, 2008, p, 972).
The society should stop the denial regarding the existence of stigma among the people with obesity. There is the need for the community to abandon the perceptions regarding obese individuals, consider them worth in the society, and stop measuring their health depending on how fat people are.
In the workplaces, the employers need to improve their attitudes while dealing with overweight and obese people. In most cases, employers develop strategies that they perceive will enhance the welfare of the obese employees but they work against them mainly due to how to execute those plans(Puhl et al, 2007, p. 353). It is commendable that they have begun taking actions without waiting for the guidance of the federal government to deal with problems arising in the organization set up. For instance, they should set more realistic individual goals by comprehending each, circumstances such as histories and conditions that will enable them to come up with ways to help obese individuals shed some weight and become more healthy.
Additionally, most employees usually provide unhealthy diets to their employees for the cases of those that work in night shifts or otherwise. Unhealthy eating habits promote such things as obesity, the same condition they are trying to fight. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the employees to always advocate for healthy eating whenever they can to ensure. They should also offer a supportive environment in that it encourages all the employees to practice safer and more robust lifestyles such as offering opportunities to become active physically(Gortmaker, 199, p. 410).
Rather than the employer looking at the costs of medication and the off days, the obese employees spend on, they should encourage them to become healthy so that they can be more productive(Puhl & Heuer, 2009, p.950) They ought to increase awareness to people with obesity as well as ensuring they access treatment to their conditions since it hardly improves without the correct form of treatment. On the same note, such people require follow up to ensure they are in perfect health as continue working for an organization(Pingitore et al,1994, p. 909).
The employer or the leadership of an organization need to take the lead in recognizing and appreciating people with obesity among them. Using negative stereotypes to define them and allocate them duties is unwarranted thus, in-depth interviews and evaluations should be the basis for determining what role they should play. They should not be subject to economic penalty, demotions and unfair firing due to their conditions(Wolf & Colditz,1998 p. 100).
The level of discrimination should stop starting from the top as well as encouraging the other employees to follow suit. By taking care of their needs, they will feel appreciated which will psych up their morale and motivation hence more productivity(Neckerman & Kirschenman, 1991, p.435).
Other areas have been understudied but are potentials for obesity discrimination include the public accommodations where people with obesity may have trouble(Puhl et al, 2009, p.440) In the social settings such as airplanes, buses, trains, hotels among others could cause challenges to obese people due to the sizes of the seats and other things such as seatbelts. Additionally, in the housing department, the overweight people face discrimination from the property owners according to a small study that involved obese and non –obese students who paused as seeking rental houses(Obesity-Preventing, W.H.O.)
The non-obese students were offered the rental units while the obese were denied. Besides, obesity is a potential barrier towards adopting a child in places that use the weight of a parent to criteria to determine the adoption process. Research should also not discriminate people with obesity(Rankinen et al, 2006, p.600). The underrepresentation of overweight persons is massive not unless it primarily focuses on obesity. For instance, research institutions usually fund the investigations of other ailments disregarding obesity, which is a complex condition in itself.
Limitations
Most of the studies on anti-obesity attitudes among different professionals such as hiring, educational, and medical have used the self -report techniques, a myriad of mentality assessing measures and non-random methods which have not been tested for reliability. Also, studies looking into discriminatory behaviors and attitudes have solely relied on samples from the students.Additionally, the literature is not significantly appropriate to come up with conclusions in areas where discriminations have been identified to occur. In addition, it is not entirely clear that discrimination occurs in higher intensities as obesity of an individual increase.
Discussion
Weight and obesity-related bias have become common in many social settings that have had immense social and economic challenges. With the identification of the causes of this stigma and prejudice, as well as the interventions necessary to end it, it is evident that it will reduce drastically. The researchers should conduct more research that will help in the formulation of policies to protect the obese population from harassment and discrimination and those that will promote a safer and healthy working environment.
Conclusion
The objective of this paper was to identify the causes of bias in hiring, perceptions in the society regarding obesity as well as identifying measures to curb it. The identified interventions will lead to the decrease of weight based discrimination in workplaces. A plethora of consequences emanating from weight bias in places of work in the community have been identified . These consequences have constantly caused suffering to the victims in terms of lowered self –confidence and reduced productivity. Weight bias is also a violation of human rights thus obese people ought to be protected by the federal and state authorities to promote equality among all citizens. Research institutions should invest more in developing measures and strategies to improve the safer and the healthier working environment.
Conflict of interest
None
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