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Men Who Are More Attractive Are Less Likely To Get Jobs

Men Who Are More Attractive Are Less Likely To Get Jobs

Have you ever wondered if there was more to life other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A new study of men in the USA and Great Britain has found that men who are lumped with the 'affliction' of being really handsome are less likely to get on in life.

The - admittedly slightly spurious - reasoning behind this claims that stunningly beautiful men are more likely to register as a threat to their bosses and are therefore less likely to be promoted or hired to powerful positions.

And there was me thinking that the reason I'm skint all the time was down to the fact that I'm useless and lazy. It's good to know that it isn't exclusively that, anyway.

It turns out that there is more to life than just being ridiculously good looking, after all.

via GIPHY

Of course, that reasoning seems to suggest that all bosses are insecure, ugly men, which simply isn't true, but let's stick with it anyway.

The study was performed by researchers from schools from both sides of the pond, including University College London's School of Management and the University of Maryland, and looked at four separate offices in four separate experiments.

The study looked at instances in which men are looking to hire other men and found that the chances of the prospective employee were negatively affected by how attractive the candidate was.

That also assumes that we all know who is attractive and who isn't. If that were the case, Benedict Cumberbatch would definitely not have enjoyed the long and storied career that he has.

Benedict Cumberbatch doesn't struggle to find work...
PA

Anyway, Professor Sun Young Lee, the University of Maryland lead researcher, explained: "Managers are affected by stereotypes and make hiring decisions to serve their own self-interests so organisations may not get the most competent candidates.

"With more companies involving employees in recruitment processes, this important point needs attention. Awareness that hiring is affected by potential work relationships and stereotyping tendencies can help organisations improve their selection processes."

Excellent - that puts paid to the old stereotype that being really hot gets you further ahead in life - at least, in the case of men hiring other men. The same study found that women aren't affected by the same problem.

They have their own set of problems, mind...

Where does all of this leave us, though? If you're ugly, are you now going to try less hard to get a better job, assuming you'll sleepwalk up the ladder?

If you're gorgeous, are you going to give up trying? Should you be trying to make yourself appear less attractive at interviews?

It's not just office work, either. Hollywood actor Rob Lowe thinks that he has been hampered by his good looks.

'Too good looking?' - Rob Lowe.
PA

In 2014 he told the New York Times: "There's this unbelievable bias and prejudice against quote-unquote good-looking people, that they can't be in pain or they can't have rough lives or be deep or interesting.

"They can't be any of the things that you long to play as an actor. I'm getting to play those parts now and loving it. When I was a teen idol, I was so goddamn pretty I wouldn't have taken myself seriously."

Well, boo-fucking-hoo, Rob fucking Lowe.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Men, Science, Study, UK News, Business, Interesting, US News