Obesity and Stigmatization at Work

The rate of obesity has been growing around the world and, along with it, the obesity stigma. Obesity bias is based on perceptions that the condition is in a person’s control and is a character flaw for which one is responsible. These negative perceptions drive weight discrimination in the workplace that exists at every level from CEOs to HR professionals to coworkers and covers hiring, assignment, and advancement decisions. The workplace weight bias creates damaging impacts for obese and overweight persons, organizations, and society. This chapter examines the role of the obesity stigma in the workplace, its pervasiveness, false assumptions that drive it, and the possible ways of reducing it.