The Issue of Obesity in the Workplace: Discrimination and Its Prevention

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion and Analysis
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Attitude to obesity in the workplace is one of the ethical and social concerns relevant to many people in modern society. The existing tendency towards a healthy lifestyle supposes that being fit and thin is synonymous with being healthy. Those people, who are obese, are lazy, lack motivation for positive changes, and are ill. There is no need to say that these negative characteristics do not necessarily reflect the actual situation and contribute to the prejudged attitude of over-weighted individuals.

Many companies try to “encourage” people to lose weight and to have healthy body parameters to keep the cost of insurance down. Business owners assume that people without weight problems are more nutritious than those who are obese, which means they do not need many expanses on their health. As a result, new candidates for employment may be secretly judged for their weight, and they might not get the particular job because of obesity, which is discriminatory.

The company I work for is not the exception, making this topic relevant to me. Nonetheless, it is vital to discuss it because many people in the United States suffer from discrimination because of their weight. The positive motivation for implementing discriminatory practices does not mean that it has positive results. Business does not care about the health state of their employees, and the explanation that they worry about the health issues of their workers is a hypocrite because they want to reduce costs for health insurance. The critical detail is that the spread of the negative attitude to obesity in the workplace leads to the segregation of overweight people, stereotypical perceptions of their abilities, and prejudged attitudes toward them. It is possible to hypothesize that a judgmental attitude to obesity in the workplace is a critical social and ethical concern due to the discriminatory approach it promotes.

Discussion and Analysis

Healthcare professionals promote the idea that obesity is one of the most significant problems that lead to illnesses and death. It is connected with the increased healthcare costs because people do not understand that their choice of food and drinks negatively affects their health in the long-term perspective. Moreover, obesity is regarded as a danger to the environment because energy-dense products that lead to being overweight are often produced using fertilizers and chemicals that contribute to water pollution and soil erosion (Mann, 2017). This hypothesis creates the negative image of the obese person as responsible for the destruction of nature, air pollution, and increased costs of medical aid. Therefore, supporting the “war” on obesity leads to discrimination against over-weighted people.

Obesity is an example of stigma that contributes to the aggravation of inequalities in society. Being overweight is widely associated with adverse outcomes for the person’s health, their inability to work productively, and to be motivated for positive changes. These details lead to the discrimination of obese people in various spheres of life because it is assumed that they have health problems. The main point is that obesity does not necessarily mean illness, and attention to people’s body image and weight leads to stigmatization (Blake & Hatzenbuehler, 2019). It is critical to eliminate the stigma connected with obesity and potential health inequalities because it infringes the rights of people who have extra weight in the spheres that are not associated with their appearance.

The message that obesity is synonymous with health problems is unethical, but it is actively promoted in popular culture and public media. Therefore, most people do not regard the campaigns against the spread of obesity as an infringement of the rights of over-weighted people. The critical detail is that participation in the anti-obesity campaign should be voluntary, and when the person does not want to participate in it, this campaign is oppressive (MacKay, 2017). When individuals are forced to lose weight by their employer, it is a vivid example of oppressive behavior that is justified by the manipulative statement that obesity is connected with health risks and the company cares for the health state of its employees.

At the same time, the idea that the company is responsible for the health state of its workers is widespread, and many employees regard it as a priority in the development of their business. The notion of “health at work” has become an integral part of the corporate policy in recent years, and almost 60 percent of American companies try to promote healthier habits among their employees (Knai et al., 2017). The peculiar detail is that the employers perceive this tendency differently, resulting in biased practice outcomes. For instance, some companies promote voluntary regular health checks for their workers, mental health supervision, and healthy food in their restaurants (Knai et al., 2017). The critical detail is that these initiatives are voluntary, and the workers should express their desire to participate in these practices. Other companies, in their turn, disregard the personal will of their employees and require their workers to lose extra weight because it decreases the costs of health insurance for them.

Even though the American legal system opposes discrimination in the workplace, the laws have limitations. For example, the companies can promote healthy lifestyles among their employees and motivate them to lose weight, giving them bonuses for the lost pounds. Even though this policy is justified from the financial point of view because the company pays less for health insurance for the employees without obesity, the practice is deeply discriminatory. It makes obese people who cannot lose weight or do not want to do it for their reasons stigmatized in the company regardless of their professionalism and their working abilities (Blake & Hatzenbuehler, 2019). It leads to the aggravation of inequalities based on stigmatization, making the situation unacceptable from the legal perspective. Moreover, it makes the atmosphere in the workplace toxic because obese people feel that they are constantly judged for their appearance.

It is vital to implement new practices that control the existing situation of segregation and discrimination against overweight individuals. Popularizing civil rights agencies and federal policies that prevent the stigmatization of obese people in the workplace are essential in overcoming this bias (Blake & Hatzenbuehler, 2019). Moreover, it is necessary to increase public knowledge concerning the equal attitude to all people regardless of their appearance, body shape, and health state. Otherwise, inequalities and injustice will aggravate with time, and people will not see that there is something wrong with discriminating against obese people in the workplace.

These examples show that discrimination against people based on their body shape has severe adverse outcomes. The motivation of healthcare professionals and companies that promote healthy lifestyles can be positive because they want to ensure that people are aware of their health risks and make everything possible to preserve their well-being. At the same time, this campaign creates the image of the obese individual as an ill person who cannot cope with their passions and deliberately destroys their health and the surrounding planet. This approach is entirely unethical and unacceptable in a democratic society that tries to pursue social justice principles.

Conclusion

Summing up, discrimination against obese people in the workplace is a social and ethical problem that requires changes. The main detail is that most people think they promote health when they talk about the adverse impacts of obesity on the human body. These claims are supported by healthcare professionals, which makes the concerns about the weight justified from a rational point of view. The critical detail is that these discussions in the public sphere create unhealthy attention to the body shape of people who do not want it. Obese people are discriminated against in the workplace for their inability or lack of motivation to lose weight, which is far from the norms of equality.

It is possible to assume that the right thing to do in this situation is to make sure that the person expresses own willingness to discuss their weight. It is expected when the company proposes a healthy diet and health checks for its employees. Every worker should make their own decision concerning using these opportunities the company provides. However, it is a sign of discrimination when the individual is discriminated against for obesity because the company has to pay more for their health insurance. In this case, civil rights activists and legal authorities should protect the employee’s rights because this situation infringes the principles of equality. Individuals should be aware of their rights and the unacceptability of judging others because of their weight.

References

Blake, V. K., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2019). Legal remedies to address stigma-based health Inequalities in the United States: Challenges and opportunities. The Milbank Quarterly, 97(2), 480–504. Web.

Knai, C., Scott, C., D’Souza, P., James, L., Mehrotra, A., Petticrew, M., Eastmure, E., Durand, M. A., & Mays, N. (2017). The public health responsibility deal: Making the workplace healthier? Journal of Public Health, 39(2), 373–386. Web.

MacKay, K. (2017). A feminist analysis of anti-obesity campaigns: Manipulation, oppression, and autonomy. International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, 10(2), 61–78. Web.

Mann, R. F. (2017). Controlling the environmental costs of obesity. Environmental Law, 47(3), 695–739. Web.

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The Issue of Obesity in the Workplace: Discrimination and Its Prevention

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