Perceptions of cigarette smoking and weight in hypothetical hiring decisions

Prior studies indicate lower employment and greater difficulty securing reemployment among individuals who smoke or are overweight. In an anonymous online survey, we examined willingness to hire candidates who smoke cigarettes or are overweight for different job types and tested respondents' smoking history and body weight as moderating factors.

Employed U.S. adults (N = 1,107) were recruited online in 2019-2020. Respondents indicated their willingness to hire and hiring preferences for six different job roles in reference to eight different attributes, which included smoking and overweight status. Analyses tested differences by job type and respondents' own smoking and overweight status.

Percent willing to hire candidates who smoke (are overweight) was 7.6% (40.3%) for health aide, 15.3% (66.2%) for receptionist, and 53.6% (58.1%) for groundskeeper. Ever-smoker respondents were more likely than never-smokers to be willing to hire candidates who smoke (odds ratios [OR] = 1.98-3.00) and less likely to identify smoking as a least preferred attribute (ps < .009). Overweight respondents were more likely than nonoverweight respondents to be willing to hire overweight candidates (OR = 1.47-1.99) and less likely to identify overweight as a least preferred attribute (ps < .002). Moderating effects of respondent smoking or overweight status were greater for the public-facing receptionist versus groundskeeper position.

In hypothetical hiring decisions, smoking and overweight were viewed as undesirable, particularly among respondents without the attribute tested. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).