A primer with purpose: Research implications of the objectification of weight in the workplace

Abstract

We offer a primer for researchers who seek to carry out studies that evaluate the lived experience of larger‐bodied workers. We use objectification theory to describe the process by which intraculturally‐determined body size preferences impact how observers think about and react to larger‐bodied colleagues, and how these larger‐bodied colleagues internalize and cope with these judgements. Arguing that exploration of the objectification of larger‐bodied professionals is incomplete without the use of multidisciplinary lenses, we describe mechanisms that reinforce weight stigma, including the role of healthism‐based value systems, intersectionality, and body image. We conclude the primer by outlining areas for new research that highlights burgeoning applied demand for more nuanced, evidence‐based discussions of weight at work. Practitioner points In professional spaces, many workers feel comfortable “objectifying” their colleagues who occupy larger (i.e., “overweight”/”obese”) bodies. This means that workers (a) constantly compare their colleagues’ bodies to a “thin” standard, (b) feel a certain comfort in remarking on their larger‐bodied colleagues’ size, and (c) this judgment feeds into a cycle of self‐consciousness and self‐dislike that many larger‐bodied workers feel about themselves. This objectification process can be doubly harmful to the well‐being of larger‐bodied workers when they, too, occupy a secondary marginalized identity/ies, such as being female or of a minority ethnicity. The motivation for objectification comes from broader Western culture, which views the pursuit of health as a value that all people should pursue. Workers often assume their larger‐bodied colleagues are not pursuing health simply because of their size and can feel punitive toward them as a result. Organizational remedies for this objectification process include educational programming and training to talk about the myriad ways “health” may be realized; more precise information about the complex origin’s of one’s body size; education around how marginalization of larger‐bodied colleagues does not stimulate effective action, but instead harms these colleague’s mental health (and beyond).

Reflexivity in quantitative research: A rationale and beginner's guide

“…This researcher might, for example, critically question why ‘weight’ is the chosen variable of interest. Beyond traditional ethics, is this an ethically designed and run study (Lemmon et al., 2022)? Considering that people who are concerned about gaining weight can have poorer body image, could this study, in any way, be problematic?…”

The psychology of diversity and its implications for workplace (in)equality: Looking back at the last decade and forward to the next

“…Lastly, our review is neither able to delve as deep into specific strands of diversity, nor compare findings across different strands, as much as it would have liked, given the lack of critical mass of studies around any one diversity strand. However, since we undertook our review, recently published work within the BPS journals has started to unpack stigma and objectification of weight, and ways to tackle it in the workplace (Lemmon et al, 2021). Additionally, Dobai and Hopkins (in press) have applied the concepts of identity concealment and non‐disclosure to ethnicity, which has traditionally been viewed as a more visible (rather than invisible) stigma.…”

Becoming and acting as an ally against weight-based discrimination

“…Ally identity development represents an individual-level, socio-cognitive, and behavioral transformation of the individual to curb the perpetuation of weight-stigma by oneself and others. Lemmon et al (2023) assert that researchers should acknowledge uncomfortable feelings about weight and consider that disinterest not only impedes organizational research but also enables mistreatment. Answering this call to catalyze research through personal reflection, we draw inspiration from a recent synthesis of the ally identity development literature (Martinez et al, 2023) to outline how individuals may progress from an inability or unwillingness to address weight-based discrimination to being successful allies for people in larger or smaller bodies.…”

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We appreciate and agree with the importance of the Best Practices for Weight at Work Research outlined by Lemmon et al (2023). To help further contribute to this body of literature, we connect the scholarship related to weight-based 1 discrimination to contemporary allyship scholarship.

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“…It is critically important to examine the development of allies against weight-stigma for two reasons. First, misguided assumptions about the controllability of weight (and resultant expectations that the victims of weight-stigma are solely responsible for reducing the negativity they experience by changing their body size; Lemmon et al, 2023) can be a mitigable but particularly pernicious barrier to people becoming allies against size based discrimination. Second, the direly misguided notion that certain discriminatory behaviors (e.g., commenting on others' sizes, recommending size management strategies) are deserved, helpful, and welcome for people in larger or smaller bodies represents an example of inappropriate expression of mistreatment that allyship behaviors can address (Sniezek, 2021).…”