Ways Your Appearance Affects Your Paycheck

[The Straight Story]

How successful you become is mostly up to you. Success also depends on how you're perceived by others. Numerous studies have shown looks can impact career advancement.

Some say physical appearance matters even more to employers than a cover letter.

....

Men who are at least 6' tall make an average salary of $5,525 more than their shorter, 5'5 counterparts, says Harvard University. Another study polled half of all the Fortune 500 companies about the height of their CEOs. On average, male CEOs were three inches taller than the average man at just under 6'.

If you're a skinny woman New York University sociologist Dalton Conley conducted a study and discovered that a woman's weight negatively impacts her household income and "job prestige." In fact, a 1% increase in body mass results in a 0.6 percentage point decrease in family income.


http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/ways-your-appearance-affects-your-paycheck-535945.html?tickers=^dji,^gspc,spy,dia

[hobbit709]

1. how well you kiss ass also affects it.

[ingac70]

3. +1

[Orrex]

4. In corporate parlance it's referred to as "playing the game"

[whathehell]

6. One thing doesn't cancel out the other. n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

18. Being a 3-footer would seem to be prime, then.

Confusing.

[eilen]

2. My husband is a union man and makes the same rate

as every other man in his classification. He is tall (6'1") and in very good shape as well. The bonus is less medical bills but we do purchase supplements, gym memberships and appropriate fitness gear (shoes, clothing).

However, he sometimes still gets laid off before the brewery stinking out of shape guys because he is not part of the "in crowd" and does not kiss ass even though he outperforms them.

[cbdo2007]

12. Sounds like his union may be holding him back from advancing further/faster.

That's the good part about not being in a union. They aren't required to go by seniority and stuff, so I've easily excelled past people at other jobs I've had because I did better work.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[eilen]

32. He would fight for the right to collectively bargain until

his dying breath. He sees the oldtimers-- those 50+ and many are in rough shape from the intense physical work they do and knows that will be him someday so he does not mind the seniority system.

[timo]

5. I have always wondered

has anyone done a long term study on the folks who have those big black rubber bushings in their ears and all kinds of piercings in their face and all tatted up, I know I am not the only one who looks and thinks man your gonna regret that later....what kind of money do thye make compared to the 6' guy ?? I know i am prolly gonna get flamed for this but I am big boy and can take it!!

[Name removed]

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[The Straight Story]

8. I know one who has done pretty well, he owns his own tatoo shop, hires people who look

like what you are describing.

[timo]

10. hmm okay

so thats good for about 8 out of how many thousands??

[WinkyDink]

16. Yes, that's common.

Not.

[Recursion]

21. And that's the ideal look for running a tattoo or piercing shop

If somebody wanted to do that and had no ink or chrome I'd tell them to get inked and pierced. If somebody wants an office job, not so much.

[vi5]

9. I know plenty of people like that....

..and none of them work in any field where looks are of a particular consequence (ie. an office setting).

If someone goes to those extremes in their body modification they are most likely in some field where that won't have as much of an impact.

I mean I've worked in offices in corporations and companies for going on 20 years now, and I've encounted one person visibly covered in tattoos. And he was an IT contractor and not actually an employee of the company itself. Every person I know with what would be regarded by most as semi-extreme body modification work either behind the scenes in food service, or in the arts, or in more service/delivery related fields or they own their own businesses.

[w8liftinglady]

11. I will say that people who encounter others in public generally cover theirs

We are required to cover our tattoos and remove ear discs.One nasal piercing is allowed... for the nursing staff.

It is a question of priorities.
My friend's husband is a tattoo artist,and needless to say,she has more than I do.
they are all covered when we work.

[vi5]

15. It also depends on timing I'm sure...

I don't think my company has any rules about it (I work in an office in a white collar desk job setting). I have a lot of tattoos but none in any place visible if I have a long sleeve shirt on. Even a baggier short sleeve shirt covers up most of mine.

But even if they didn't I wouldn't show up for an interview with any of them visible, nor would I probably the first couple of months of work.

I've been at my job for 15 years so over that time I've had less concerns about whether my tattoos are visible or not and most people know I have them. But again, no hand, knuckle, or neck tattoos. I think those 3 things are usually the deal breakers. Maybe lower arms as well, but that could depend on your tolerance for wearing long sleeves in the summer.

[WinkyDink]

13. "How successful you become is mostly up to you." Incl. height? IQ? Family $$? Beauty?

[jillan]

19. I have literally seen this in action. Years ago. Back when I was a petite young thing, and a

supervisor.

The male chauvenist pig that was the regional manager told me not to bring someone over from another office because of her appearance.
She was heavy set, had a bad complexion. But she was always jovial, the customers loved her. She was a hard worker, loyal as can be, always on time, made her co-workers smile.
My boss told me that when customers come in one of the offices, they want to see an attractive woman.

I won that argument. This was in the 80s.

[felix_numinous]

20. Another reason to have unions.

Unions provide arbitration, so workers are able to negotiate for what they want, it balances out corruption like hiring for looks only.

The thing to remember is that any system can become corrupt, there have been corrupt unions too. i think the key is that consolidated power needs to be broken up everywhere, whether in religion, or military, international corporations, and power needs to have checks and balances in order for this to happen. Unions are one way to check the power of corporations.

[lapislzi]

22. Sad but true

I have firsthand experience. I'll be the first to admit that the owners of the company I work for--it's a small family business with fewer than 50 employees--are, shall we say, a trifle "colorful?" In other words, the "appropriate" train passed their station and isn't coming back.

There's good and bad in that. It means that I can swear like a sailor, even at my boss. It means that a little banter doesn't get you written up by HR. It means that a certain level of zaniness is tolerated, even encouraged--especially as we're in a creative field.

And then. There's the palpable anti-fat, pro-skinny bias that starts at the very top. The remarks to those considered not "FOA" or "trade show material." I was one of them, until I lost 50 lbs. Attitudes changed dramatically. Another woman, very obese, was trapped in a dead-end position despite her obvious talents and seniority. There were barely-concealed "tut-tut"s about her weight, along with "helpful" books that mysteriously appeared on her desk.

When she lost some weight, her situation improved. She got a promotion. Meanwhile, the skinny gals and guys are treated with obvious favoritism by the tall, thin, and photogenic owners.

What's a chubby gal to do? I'm not saying my choices are as dire as "chocolate or livelihood," but it's discouraging to be aware that you're constantly being judged by your appearance rather than your merits.

[WatsonT]

23. Height and intelligence correlate significantly

The coefficient is about .2 give or take.

So not huge but enough to make a difference when looking at a large population.

And I'm curious about the weight thing. The article was light on details. It just said that increased weight in women decreases earning power. For that to be relevant you'd have to account for mitigating factors: education/intelligence/socioeconomic status all affect obesity rates. Likewise there is a difference between married and single women (men too) and those who have had children vs those who have not. A single women with no child would likely be able to work longer hours and generally dedicate herself more to work than a married mother of 2. This could account for weight/income effect.

Not saying it is, but it could be a factor and if not accounted for then this conclusion is meaningless.

[raccoon]

25. I never heard that before. "Height and intelligence correlate significantly."

Can you provide us a link?

[WatsonT]

26. Sure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_and_intelligence

Wikipedia link, yeah but they have a lot of the studies pulled together in one spot.

[Lucian]

24. Well I'm screwed.

I'm 5'5" tall and have tattoos on my arms.

Maybe I should quit college now and go work in a tattoo parlor. :eyes:

I'm so glad that I live in a country where looks matter more than how well you can do the job. :sarcasm: :eyes:

[arthritisR_US]

28. I'm screwed too :(

At 5 ft 1 1/2" and 110 lbs, being short and squat ...I'm screwed.

[GeorgeGist]

27. PT Barnum grossly underestimated ...

the number of fools born every minute.

[RagAss]

29. What about the people Offshore who stole our jobs...what do they look like ???

This kind of a study may have made sense 25 years ago, but times have changed.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

31. +1

[blueamy66]

30. We don't have a dress code, and I've always worn jeans....

but have started to dress professionally.

I feel better and my upper mgt. has noticed.

Hopefully I'll get a bigger raise this year.