Is Beauty a Curse in the Workplace?
New research on the “bimbo effect” will surprise you
My boss knocked on my cubicle. His cheeks flushed and his shoulders clenched like a tightened drum. He had the weary look of a man about to shoot a lame horse.
“I need to speak to you in my office.”
Every employee dreads those words. I was fresh out of college in my first sales job, and like most young women, I had the stench of people-pleasing sticking to me like cheap cologne. But in less than six months, I was bringing in more revenue than most of the seasoned salespeople. I showed up early and left late. My clients loved me and repeatedly told my boss how much they appreciated my hard work.
What could I have possibly done wrong?
I stepped into his office and stumbled as the point of my heel snagged his Berber carpet. I straightened my skirt and sat in the cold metal chair facing his desk. He averted my gaze and snapped his pen like he was cocking a gun.
Click. Click. Click.
Yes, I was definitely in trouble.
“A few of the women in the office have voiced some complaints about you.”
My mind catapulted through my possible traitors. Was it Janet from accounting? I was always pilfering the…
