Study: Handsome Men Face Workplace Discrimination

(Photo: Jorge Mejía peralta)

I work online, so it’s less of a problem. But, yes: we rakishly good-looking men endure nothing but sorrow as a result of our superior appearances. Marko Pitesa, a professor of management at the University of Maryland, found that handsome men are less likely to get hired in competitive workplaces. That’s because people tend to think of handsome men as more competent, and thus dangerous competition. You don't want to hire someone who's better at your job than you are, right? The Daily Telegraph reports:

While the attractive men were more likely to be hired to work in a team environment, unattractive men had the advantage in a competitive one.

Pitesa said: “In situations where there are subtle or less subtle cues of competition among colleagues then the fact that attractive men are seen as more competent is going to create a disadvantage for attractive men.”

He added: “I was taken by the fact that people were unaware of [their bias].”

Society must find a way to do justice for the aesthetically-enhanced like us. Well, maybe not you. But me, at least.

-via Debby Witt

Study: Handsome Men Face Workplace Discrimination