Weight Gain During a Pandemic & The Shame That Follows

Written by Kiliyah Mair| Communications and Data Analyst, Enlightened Solutions

Fatphobia prevents us from showing up as our “best selves” at work.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, stressors involving unemployment, food insecurity, political and racial tension heightened by social media, coupled with social isolation, have deeply affected most American workers. Although indulging in comfort food is to be expected during stress, many American women have still developed a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for gaining weight — especially in the workplace. Fatphobia is deeply ingrained in our workplaces, such that even a pandemic has caused many to hold a deep fear of weight gain.

Weight gain is linked to failure and weight loss is linked to success because of the anti-fat/pro-thin implicit biases that Americans have.

Society has attempted to normalize weight gained throughout the pandemic by creating phrases and hashtags such as “COVID-15,” “Pandemic Pounds,” and “Quarantine-15.” However, the anxiety, guilt, and shame attached to gaining weight still remain and many American workers have learned to recognize differences and physical change as wrong, unnatural, and unappealing. Instead of encouraging individuals to accept and embrace weight fluctuations as normal and expected, we instead push ourselves to quickly acquire gym memberships in order to feel good again — at home in our bodies.

Reports show that obese individuals are perceived as lazy, emotionally unstable, lack self-discipline, and are less competent than their peers. These biases, whether conscious or unconscious, create major issues for individuals returning to the workplace, especially those who have undergone weight fluctuations during a global pandemic.

Weight Gain in the Workplace

“Going back to work, you’re going to have two sets of people — one who completely transformed and others who have let it go.”

The language used in this Bloomberg article about pandemic weight gain is littered with anti-fat microaggressions disguised as comedic relief -comparing chubby arms to sausages, relating weight gain to a downfall, and linking tight clothing to entrapment. Whether these phrases are intentionally malicious or not, it shows how anti-fatness is so natural in society.

Narratives such as these compounded with widespread societal fatphobia are what fuel the shame of weight gain. This is not an isolated case, as many Americans who have undergone weight changes harbor a similar mindset. Weight gain is linked to failure and weight loss is linked to success because of the anti-fat/pro-thin implicit biases that Americans have.

The Push to Return to Physical Spaces

Because of the accessibility of the COVID-19 vaccine, many American workers and their employers are desperately seeking normalcy; Companies, customers, clients, and employers are also quickly pushing for their employees to return to physical office locations. Confined to our homes for months, many crave face-to-face contact, physical meetings and events, and all other in-person institutions that we once took for granted. Upon returning, either consciously or unconsciously, we expect physical spaces and our bodies to look how we left them before the pandemic.

Constant Awareness of Weight Gain Heightens Fatphobia in the Workplace

Within the workplace, weight gain not only provokes weight-based microaggressions but can also result in women receiving smaller and unfair salaries. As the world attempts to morph back into the way things were, many women may acquire a hyper fixation on their body in order to revert back to their prior physical form and evade systematic forms of weight-based discrimination.

There are an array of emotional, social, and physical consequences that arise once an individual experiences weight stigma — the social rejection and devaluation that accrues to those who do not comply with prevailing social norms of adequate body weight and shape. Some of the serious consequences that affect the individual are the development of anxiety, depressive and eating disorders, low self-esteem, weakened social relationships through the avoidance of social interaction, and, as mentioned above, stress that can lead to serious medical conditions.

Low self-esteem caused by weight stigma can increase self-doubt and decrease the chances of risk-taking. Employees may shrink or self-limit out of fear, preventing the individual from acquiring or pursuing promotional opportunities or engaging in networking events. Lack of productivity and socializing with coworkers can result in poor performance reviews potentially leading to lack of promotion or even termination.

Hyperfixation on weight gained throughout the pandemic will not only affect individuals considered obese by medical professionals or ‘overweight’ in the public eye, but also those who are considered thin or ‘healthy’ by society's standards. When an individual perceives themself as overweight, regardless of body type, it can be just as impactful as intentional weight-based discrimination. The psychological and physical stressors associated with perceived weight-based discrimination are often low self-esteem, binge eating, and psychological distress. This is important to recognize as weight fluctuations compounded with weight stigma can affect everyone regardless of their outward appearance.

The Emotional and Cost Prohibitive Return To Work

“My clothes make me feel fat. They tell me I’m not good enough.”

When working from home, many women have become accustomed to wearing lounge clothing; now that women are prompted to return to work, trying on clothing that no longer fits their “post-quarantine” body also acts as a reminder that “something is wrong” with their physical form.

When searching for professional workplace attire, some of the most common pieces of clothing that appear for women are: trousers, blouses, skirts, pantsuits, heels, dresses, and more. These types of clothing are more binding than the loungewear that many women have become accustomed to wearing after working remotely from home for over 1.5 years (sweatpants, t-shirts, shorts, hoodies, etc.). An unforeseen cost includes women not having the funds to acquire a new wardrobe — those that do will once again be reminded that their weight gain is something to be ashamed of and at fault for.

Additionally, women working in industries that require uniforms might feel ashamed when asking for larger-sized uniforms and instead will remain in clothes that do not fit properly to avoid embarrassment. Photos from the past work events simultaneously prompt comparison of our past and present selves. To assist with the reintegration back into physical workspaces that demand dress code, workplaces should strive towards developing more lax dress codes that are inclusive of changing bodies.

Work in Your Best Form

We are meant to show up to work each day in our best form in order to maintain our positions and status, regardless of extenuating circumstances. However, weight stigma, whether externally reinforced or internalized by the individual themself, does not allow us to show up in our best form. Although our society continues to diminish the severity of body discrimination in the workplace, it remains a widespread issue in America.

As the world attempts to reopen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and many are prompted to return to work after experiencing physical changes, here are a few things to remember:

• Commenting on someone’s weight is never productive
• Losing weight, especially for work is not our life’s purpose
• We must dismantle fatphobia, not our bodies

We’re still living through this pandemic — let’s not create additional stress.