Fat Acceptance in the Workplace

[TallFatSue]

Whenever I see an article like this, it reminds me that eternal vigilance is the price of fat acceptance in the workplace, and I try to do my part, firmly but subtly. No doubt I've encountered weight discrimination in my career. On the other hand, usually it's been only a temporary hurdle, and sometimes it was a blessing in disguise. To paraphrase an old saying: To get ahead as an obese woman, I've had to work twice as hard as many of my thin colleagues. Fortunately, this is not difficult.

MSNBC, Jan 26, 2007:
Fat chance: It's not easy for obese workers
Overweight workers face increasingly harsh climate in workplace
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16755130

I heartily agree with these paragraphs from the article. One of my beliefs is: damn the fat bigots -- full speed ahead! I got into the program and now I'm an office manager. A positive attitude works wonders.

Heavy workers also should ignore the bigots in their midst, advises Jeanne Henry, a government supervisor in Austin, Texas, who weights 348 pounds and faced her share of discrimination when she was an underling.

At a past job when she was working for a hospital an assistant director told her she should not apply for a management program because "no one would consider you because you are a fat woman." Henry decided not to listen to the man and got into the program anyway.

And when colleagues make negative comments, she suggests not responding right away and taking a day or two to think. Then sit the person down and gently explain to them that they hurt your feelings and why. If it continues, document the verbal abuse and take it to a supervisor or human resource manager.

Another issue to keep in mind, and I’m not blaming the victim here, is that maybe your own low self-esteem may be hurting your chances when applying for a new job or a promotion.

Several years ago when our much-respected office manager retired, I was passed over for the position, which went to a thin and pretty woman who clearly got the promotion for reasons other than her abilities. Naturally I was disappointed, and several colleagues urged me to file a complaint. Instead, I had enough presence of mind to realize that her promotion was highly unpopular in our office. So I swallowed my pride, bided my time, and watched her implode. Six months later, she was out the door and I had the job. Sometimes ya just gotta let people royally screw up so the truly talented workers get some appreciation. In my case it worked out for the best, because our original office manager would have been a very tough act for me to follow. Instead, my immediate predecessor was a disaster, and now I compare very well with *her* highly-respected predecessor. Maybe that was just dumb luck on my part, but I played the lousy hand I was dealt, and it turned out a winner.

Now that I'm in a position of influence as an office manager, I've helped address some of the weight discrimination in our workplace. We've hired more staff during my tenure, and during meetings with our personnel manager and other department heads I pointed out a simple fact at opportune times. The growing number of fat people in our society means that if we discriminate against them simply due to obesity, then we will undoubtedly overlook some highly talented people who might be hired by our competitors. Much as I'd like to advocate fat acceptance simply on the grounds of morality, it was much more effective to phrase it purely in business terms. It must have worked, because several hires in the past several years have been fat. I'm still the fattest person in our company, but there are a few other supersize employees around, as well as thin and mid-sized.

Unfortunately, we still have some die-hard fat bigots who will probably never change, so I just have to work around them. Luckily we fat people have begun to outnumber them.

 

[Happy FA]

 

[Happy FA]

 

[XGuy]

 

[TallFatSue]