Weight and Gender in Service Jobs

Abstract

The average weight of employees in the United States workforce is increasing. Importantly, relatively heavier employees are often subject to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination based solely on their weight. These biases may be further influenced by factors such as employee gender and the specific nature of the job. Thus, we employ the stereotype content model (SCM) to examine the multiplicative effects of weight and gender and argue that perceptions of employee warmth are more salient than perceptions of employee competence in customer service contexts. In support of our hypotheses, we found that weight and gender interacted to influence warmth, such that heavy women were perceived to be higher in warmth relative to less heavy women (with no effect for men). Furthermore, perceptions of warmth predicted service satisfaction, whereas perceptions of competence did not. Finally, perceptions of warmth (but not competence) explained the relations between weight and gender and service satisfaction for female (but not male) customer service agents. We end with a discussion of the theoretical implications related to the SCM along with practical implications for service industry organizations and employees.

Savoring the moment: A link between affectivity and depression

“…Alternatively, Hayes (2018) advocated for a more relaxed stance: "We should not let the limitations of our data collection efforts constrain the tools we bring to the task of trying to understand what our data might be telling us about the processes we are studying" (p. 18). Many researchers share this sentiment as indicated by their use of mediation analyses with cross-sectional data (Blashill et al, 2010;Gaunt & Scott, 2014;Goodin et al, 2009;Kung et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2014;Li et al, 2011;Osborne et al, 2015;Pollack et al, 2012;Rees & Freeman, 2009;Smith et al, 2016;Thai et al, 2016;Thomas & Bowker, 2015;Torres & Taknint, 2015;Webb et al, 2016). Thus, the present study utilized cross-sectional mediation analyses while recognizing its preclusion of causal inference.…”

Providing Positive Individuating Information to Reduce Stereotype-Based Negativity in Service Encounters

“…We used a between-subjects design in which each participant was randomly assigned to respond to one of three hypothetical hotel front-desk service encounters, in which the type of individuating information provided was manipulated (Individuating Information: control, stereotypical, counter-stereotypical) along with a photograph of a purported hotel front desk agent. The control scenario with no individuating information provided (shown below) was previously constructed with a series of both positive and negative statements so as to avoid priming the warmth or competence of the front desk agent and to enhance variability in responses (as developed by Smith et al, 2016):You are staying at a relatively nice hotel. Overall, you had an enjoyable time.…”

“…Thus, it is unlikely that individuals in these groups would elicit blatant negativity from others. However, particularly in customer service contexts, warmth may be perceived as being an important component of task performance (Smith et al, 2016). Thus, Asian adults may be negatively stereotyped in these contexts due to their perceived lack of warmth and could benefit from providing counter-stereotypical (warmth) information.…”

Coworkers, supervisors and frontline restaurant employees: social judgments and the mediating effects of exhaustion and cynicism

“…Lastly, because few hospitality studies have measured the effects of social judgments from a consumer standpoint (e.g. Gao and Mattila, 2014;Smith et al, 2016), it would be interesting and important to assess whether customers' social judgments of employees may eventually impact their attitudes and behavioral outcomes (e.g. customer loyalty, word of mouth) in a hospitality or restaurant setting.…”