Beautiful people having less luck with jobs and salaries

Good-looking people have been getting jobs more easily, higher salaries and being promoted faster for ages. However, there appears to be a bucking of this trend recently. Advertisers and companies are using people with more average looks as they appear more “authentic” and sincere. In some cases, using very attractive people may even backfire.

In informal studies done, one assessed flight stewards. About 237 people were waiting to board a flight at China’s third-largest airport, located in Guangzhou. There were asked to read a scenario about receiving meals or other services from a flight attendant while aboard the plane and view a picture of the employee. Participants randomly viewed either “attractive” or “unattractive” flight attendants.

It was found that participants who saw themselves as less good-looking felt more distance from an attractive flight attendant and were also more likely to perceive the service as lower quality.

In another study, consumers at a shopping mall were surveyed who had just had a face-to-face encounter with a service employee, further confirmed the results. In each study, there was a clear connection between beautiful workers and unpleasant customer experiences for people who are less attractive.

Thus in a world that admires and hires beautiful people, recent research suggests there could be potential downside as observed in the service sector.