The College Fix

If you’re ugly, you’re gonna have a tough time at the office.

Michigan State University Today reports that “people who are considered unattractive are more likely to be belittled and bullied in the workplace, according to a first-of-its-kind study.”

Brent Scott, associate professor of management and lead investigator on the study, called the findings – um – “ugly.”

“Although we like to think we’re professional and mature in the workplace, it can be just like high school in many ways,” he told MSU Today.

The researchers surveyed 114 workers at a health care facility in the southeastern United States. The workers were asked how often their co-workers engaged in cruel behavior toward them (which included saying hurtful things, acting rudely and making fun of them). People who didn’t know the study participants judged their attractiveness from digital photos. The unattractive workers were treated much more harshly than attractive employees even when other key factors were taken into account, including age, gender and how long they had worked at the health care facility.

MSU Today highlights that “while plenty of research has found that attractive students tend to be more popular in school, the study is the first to link attractiveness to cruelty in the workplace.”

Well, there’s always happy hour.

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