Sexual attraction between colleagues can sometimes lead to favoritism, but it is generally considered unethical and even illegal in many workplaces. Yet, some research suggests that when a person finds another attractive, they may be more likely to judge them positively overall, which could include their professional abilities. This article will explore why sexual attraction could lead people to overestimate someone's value, how it might affect judgments about a colleague's reliability or competence over time, and what steps employers can take to prevent such distortions.
Overestimation of Reliability and Competence
Research has shown that people often find physically attractive individuals more trustworthy than those who are less attractive.
Studies have found that participants perceived physically attractive confederates as having better personalities and were more willing to share sensitive information with them than non-attractive ones. In the workplace, this could mean that employees may be more willing to give a job to a candidate because they are physically appealing rather than for their actual qualifications. Similarly, supervisors may assume an attractive employee is reliable and capable based on their appearance without considering other factors.
Effects on Long-Term Judgments
Over time, these biases can backfire. If an individual does not perform well at their job, sexual attraction can cause bias towards positive perceptions of their performance, leading to continued hiring or promotion decisions despite poor results.
If a person who is highly valued due to their attractiveness is eventually terminated from their position, the distorted judgement may make the decision seem unfair or even illegal. This could lead to lawsuits or damaged company morale.
Preventing Distortion
Employers should implement policies to ensure objective evaluations of candidates and current employees based on their skills, experience, and performance. They should also provide clear guidelines for communication between colleagues to avoid any potential favoritism or discrimination based on physical appearance.
Training programs can educate managers on how to recognize these biases and address them in their decision making processes.
How does sexual attraction distort long-term judgments about a colleague's reliability or competence?
Sexual attraction can distort an individual's judgment of a colleague's reliability and competence for several reasons. Firstly, sexual attraction can lead to cognitive biases such as illusory correlation and selective attention, which cause individuals to interpret information in ways that confirm their pre-existing beliefs or desires (Langlois et al. , 2017).