Good Looks Equal Success
Attractive and Tall People Get Better Jobs and Higher Pay
According to Dave McGinn, writing in The Globe and Mail (August 4, 2009), “Numerous studies have found that the more attractive a person is, the more money he or she is going to make.”
Taller People Receive Higher Pay
The Gainesville Sun reported (October 17, 2003) on a University of Florida study that showed being tall meant a bigger paycheque. According to the research each additional inch in height yielded an extra $789 in pay a year. So a person who is six feet tall,” said the newspaper, “will earn about $5,525 more a year than a person who is 5 foot 5.”
Sun staff writer Cindy Swirko quoted management professor Timothy Judge as saying: “Height matters in career success. These findings are troubling in that, with a few exceptions such as professional basketball, no one could argue that height is an essential ability required for job performance nor a bona fide occupational qualification.”
The numbers were based on four large-scale studies; three in the United States and one in the United Kingdom.
Tall People are More Confident
According to the Gainesville newspaper, Judge and co-researcher Daniel Cable, a business professor at the University of North Carolina, speculated “that being tall boosts self-confidence, which can increase workplace success. Tall people also may be more admired and seen as better leaders, enabling them to negotiate a higher salary.”
These are claims with which Arianne Cohen concurs. In her 2009 book, “The Tall Book,” Ms. Cohen points out that height appears to be a determining factor in U.S. presidential elections; 26 out of the last 30 presidential contests went to the taller candidate. She also writes that tall people are 90% more likely to become CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
Physical Attractiveness also Boosts Pay
Gordon L. Patzer is the author of the 2008 book, “Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined.” Dr. Patzer is the director and founder of the Appearance Phenomenon Institute and The Globe and Mail quotes him as saying: “A person’s physical attractiveness has a significant impact on who is hired, who is promoted and, once hired, who gets the higher income.”
In his book, Patzer also points out that his research shows personal attractiveness leads to attracting a better spouse and even a better verdict at a criminal trial.
Daniel Hamermesh is a professor of economics at the University of Texas. The Globe and Mail’s Dave McGinn says his research shows that, “above-average-looking people were found to earn five percent more per hour than average-looking people.” Mr. Hamermesh says that this is “It’s pretty much universal across all occupations.”
Help for the Average-looking Person
The majority of people are not tall, slim, and good looking. For them there are strategies available to even out the competition for work and pay.
Pat Elke, a Toronto-based image consultant told The Globe and Mail that good grooming and behaviour is essential. “Within a tenth of a second of entering a room,” she says, “people that haven’t known you before will form 10 opinions about you based on the only criteria available to them, which is your clothes, your outward appearance, and your body language.”
Good Looks Help In Workplace.
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