Good looks barrier for men at work

Those blessed with the looks of Jon Hamm and George Clooney are often perceived as a threat in the workplace.

Those blessed with the looks of Jon Hamm (left) and George Clooney are often perceived as a threat in the workplace.

Women have long complained that those blessed with good looks are more likely to be promoted at work than their less attractive colleagues.

However, a new study has found the opposite may be true of men.

Being handsome can actually impede a man's professional progress, experts found, as male colleagues tend to be reluctant to promote those deemed more good-looking than themselves.

Researchers from University College London's School of Management found that those blessed with the looks of George Clooney or Mad Men star Jon Hamm were considered competent, but perceived as a threat.

As such, they are more likely to be rejected for competitive roles requiring individual talent such as investment banking, but picked for jobs in which team performance is rewarded, to enable the decision-maker to further their own career.

The study, co-authored by academics from the London Business School and the University of Maryland, concluded that contrary to popular belief, the same did not apply to women, as being pretty is not associated with competence.

Dr Sun Young Lee, the lead researcher, said: "Organisations want to hire competent candidates but individuals have their own agenda. When employing someone, they do not want the newcomer to do better than them and show them up."

The findings were based on four experiments involving 870 volunteers. Participants were presented with scenarios in which they had to employ someone but had more than one candidate.

The CVs were created to portray candidates with almost identical skillsets and qualifications but the photographs varied.

Dr Lee said: "Managers are affected by stereotypes and make hiring decisions to serve their own self-interests, so organisations may not get the most competent candidates.

"With more companies involving employees in recruitment processes, this important point needs attention."

The findings will likely strike a chord with actor Rob Lowe, who last year complained about how tough it had been to further his career because of his good looks.

"There's this unbelievable bias and prejudice against quote-unquote good-looking people, that they can't be in pain or they can't have rough lives or be deep or interesting," he told the New York Times. "They can't be any of the things that you long to play as an actor."

The study is published in the journal Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes.