The trend toward ‘lookism’
In a survey conducted by Personnel Today, workplaces are becoming increasingly ‘lookist’. The growing importance of physical attractiveness has led UK workers to being teased about hair colour, fashion sense and regional accents. Society seems to deem this acceptable behaviour. The survey asked to what extent does someone agree or disagree that society believes it is acceptable to tease people about certain hair, facial or bodily characteristics? Generally, if the physical characteristic is a result of a medical condition, then it is not safe to tease about it. But if it is something chosen (for example, an odd hat), then society deems it fair game, according to the figures.
Men and women also have different attitudes towards what is acceptable. Seventy per cent of men admit they have teased people about the way they look, compared with just 52% of women. Men, on average, are twice as likely to tease someone about an individual characteristic than a woman is. Maria Yapp, chief executive of Xancam, a firm of business psychologists, says men emerge as less sensitive to other people’s opinions, and what people say generally won’t affect their opinion of themselves. She adds, “Women tend to be ‘field dependent’ – they rely more on other people’s views of them. Women tend to be less likely to tease because they are more socially sensitive and think: ‘how would I feel if that happened to me?'”
One respondent says that “context and audience are all-important. You should be able to know what the reaction is likely to be before you tease – otherwise don’t do it.” However, many agreed that there is a fine line between good-natured teasing and spiteful bullying. But while being mindful of political correctness, HR departments are generally loath to insert ‘no-teasing’ clauses into employees’ terms and conditions. Not least because it would be impossible to monitor – plus, who would want to work in such a stiff environment?
