Why having a beard will damage your job prospects: Firms fear candidates sporting facial hair lack warmth and the ability to get on with colleagues
- Candidates who are sporting facial hair regarded as less employable by bosses
- Facial hair has soared in popularity with nearly half of British men with beards
- Men wearing a tie or glasses were thought more likely to succeed in a job
Influencer: Actor Tom Hardy sporting a beard
It’s bad news for hipsters – but men with beards may be harming their job prospects.
Candidates sporting facial hair at interviews may be regarded as less employable by bosses who fear they lack warmth and the ability to get on with colleagues, according to new research.
The study comes despite facial hair soaring in popularity, partly due to celebrities such as actor Tom Hardy. Nearly half of British men now sport beards or moustaches.
Psychologists at Rollins College in Florida, who asked 1,000 volunteers to judge the faces of dozens of men, said it was not clear why beards put off prospective employers. But previous studies have hinted it could be that they may make men look more aggressive.
Writing in The Journal of Social Psychology, lead researcher Marc Fetscheri said: ‘Our findings have implications for candidates for jobs in which being perceived as less warm may decrease their appeal.’
Previous studies have hinted it could be that having a beard may make men look more aggressive
In the same study, men wearing a tie or glasses were thought more likely to succeed in a job.