Wie werden übergewichtige Bewerber*innen wahrgenommen? Damit beschäftigte sich eine Masterarbeit aus dem Studiengang Human Resource Management und Arbeitsrecht der FH Burgenland.
Eisenstadt, 20th of August 2024 - An experiment from the Master's degree programme in Human Resource Management and Labour Law at Burgenland University of Applied Sciences confirms what we have long feared. The extensive list of disadvantages that women face in the world of work also includes prejudices relating to their body weight. While overweight men gave the impression of confidence and trustworthiness to the 30 participants, the method combination of emotion measurement, facial expression analysis and galvanic skin response illustrates that overweight women trigger negative emotions and rejection in the immediate reaction. The method analyses the smallest eye and facial movements as well as the formation of sweat on the skin.
Graduate Vedrana Vasicek's research for her Master's thesis involved measuring emotions using Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), eye tracking to measure visual attention and facial expression analysis (FEA). 30 participants were given the CVs of two fictitious people who were qualified for a certain job. One group was shown a photo of a slim man and a slim woman. The other group saw the same CVs, but with one overweight man and one overweight woman.
To date, there has been little research on the body weight factor in the decision-making process of HR managers. This made the results of the experiment all the more interesting.
Basically, I was able to observe that the sight of female applicants generally triggers more emotions in recruiters than the sight of male applicants. The overweight fictitious female applicant evoked the most negative facial expressions. In the case of the men, the overweight man was judged even more favourably than the normal-weight man.
Study author Vedrana Vasicek
Ultimately, however, the HR managers that participated in the experiment allowed objectivity to prevail in the decision-making process, according to the expert. "In the end, the overweight people were not disadvantaged, but the most suitable candidate was given the job." Nevertheless, it is important to raise awareness of these spontaneous reactions in society as a whole, says Vasicek. "It is understandable that a firefighter, for example, should not be obese or that someone who sells sports products should have a sporty appearance. However, in professions where body size doesn't play a role, application processes must also be objective."
Vedrana Vasicek, born in 1986, lives and works in Vienna. She completed a Bachelor's degree in HR Management at the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna and then went on to complete a part-time Master's degree in Human Resource Management and Labour Law at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland. She works as an HR generalist at the Savings Bank Auditing Association. Her company is the bank auditor for the two largest banking groups in Austria.
Master's programme - 4 semesters; Academic degree: Master of Arts in Business - MA; Organisational form: part-time (on site in Eisenstadt: Friday from 14:00, Saturday 9:30 to approx. 17:15 - 12x per semester; additional online lessons on weekdays from 18h); Study places: approx. 45; Place of study: Eisenstadt; Language of instruction: German; Tuition fees: none; Graduates usually work in national and international companies, in personnel consulting companies, in public organisations and interest groups in the following areas: personnel management, as heads of human resource management departments, labour and social law experts, in personnel consulting, personnel development and organisation, in team management.
More at www.fh-burgenland.at
Further enquiries:
Mag.a Christiane Staab
Marketing & Communication
Fachhochschule Burgenland GmbH
Tel: +43 (0)5 7705 3537
E-Mail: christiane.staab@hochschule-burgenland.at
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