Why Looking ‘Too Pretty’ in the Workplace Is a Downside, According to a Behavioral Analyst
Many people think that life is easier for beautiful people.
But research shows that beautiful women have a harder time in the workplace than average-looking women or men, Wendy Patricka criminal defense attorney and professor at San Diego Statue University’s Fowler School of Business.
Beautiful women are seen as less trustworthy, more manipulative and ‘more dangerous’.
In addition, beautiful women are more likely to be objectified, putting them in positions that jeopardize their careers, Dr. Patrick explains.
Research shows that attractive women are seen as less competent in male roles and as less trustworthy leaders, Dr. Patrick says.
This stems from ancient feelings of jealousy and competition, Dr. Patrick wrote in a column for Psychology Today.
βVery attractive women can be perceived as dangerous,β Stefanie Johnson, an associate professor of organizational leadership and information analytics at the University of Colorado who has studied the topic, told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
It’s not all bad news for beautiful people. A 2022 Harvard study suggested that attractive people perform better in job interviews and earn more money than average-looking people.
In addition, a 2023 study by the Polish Academy of Sciences found that people who were rated as attractive as teenagers are more likely to earn more than their parents 20 years later than people who were not rated as attractive.
However, these benefits were much greater for men than for women.
Even if attractive women have an advantage in landing new jobs, they may have a harder time proving that they earned their jobs and deserve to keep them. Two influential studies have confirmed this idea, Dr. Patrick said.
The first, published in 2012 by Professor Susanne Braunwho specialises in psychology and leadership at Durham University Business School in the UK, found that attractive women were seen as less competent when applying for ‘male jobs’ such as construction.
The second study A similar article was published in 2018 by Professor Johnson and Leah Sheppard, an assistant professor at Washington State University, and made headlines.
Participants in the study were asked to rate the performance of both attractive and unattractive men and women who announced hypothetical layoffs and whether the person should be fired.
The authors found that participants perceived attractive women as more likely to be fired, less trustworthy, and less honest than their male counterparts and unattractive female counterparts.
According to the study authors, this is due to ancient evolutionary instincts, where women are taught to view attractive partners as competitors, while men are taught to view attractive women as attractive but potentially untrustworthy.
“We suspect it’s the trope of the evil seductress: a subconscious fear among people of both sexes that beautiful women will use their looks to manipulate people, especially men,” Professor Sheppard told the Harvard Business Review.
There is also the obvious factor that attractive women are more likely to be sexually objectified than less attractive women, which can lead to dangerous and unprofessional situations in the workplace, says Dr. Patrick.
It’s not impossible to overcome these biases, Dr. Patrick said. It just may take longer for good-looking people to win over their colleagues than average-looking people.
“Physical attractiveness is only one aspect of the work experience. Kind, compassionate, courteous behavior can outweigh preconceptions about appearance,” says Dr. Patrick.