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Leading When Overweight: the Influence of Supervisor Body Weight on Subordinates’ Perceptions and Citizenship Behaviors

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Abstract

Integrating the stereotype content model, attribution theory, and social exchange theory, we examined the perceptions underlying bias towards overweight supervisors and the effect of supervisor weight on the workplace behaviors of subordinates. Study 1 (N = 204) confirmed that supervisors are subject to weight bias, such that supervisor weight is negatively related to subordinates’ perceptions of supervisor competence. In turn, Study 2 (N = 829) and Study 3 (N = 226) demonstrated that supervisor weight indirectly influences subordinates’ perceptions of the subordinate-supervisor relationship (leader-member exchange) and important reciprocal workplace behaviors (organizational citizenship behaviors). Furthermore, in predicting perceptions of competence, we found no interaction between supervisor weight and supervisor status, subordinate weight, or supervisor gender. We also found that supervisor weight does not influence perceptions of supervisor warmth and that the relationship between supervisor weight and perceptions of supervisor competence is linear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, College of Business, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Alexandra A. Henderson

  2. Department of Management, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    Russell A. Matthews & Marilyn V. Whitman

  3. Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Sara J. McKersie

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  1. Alexandra A. Henderson
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Henderson, A.A., Matthews, R.A., McKersie, S.J. et al. Leading When Overweight: the Influence of Supervisor Body Weight on Subordinates’ Perceptions and Citizenship Behaviors. J Bus Psychol 37, 615–631 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-021-09763-2

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