Managing Obesity: Human Resource Managers' Perspectives

I: 10.1177/0886368709331450 besity is increasing in the United States and in the workplace. There has been increased attention to obesity in the popular press, in HR practitioner journals and in academic research. The problem of obesity in organizations includes its impact on productivity, increased cost of health care coverage and on interpersonal and psychological relations. Hiring, employee morale, employee safety and that of coworkers are also affected. The concern for employee obesity also raises questions about the ethical treatment of employees. Specifically, if you as the employer want to control obesity, are you invading the privacy of your employees? Alternatively, if you as the employer do nothing, are you contributing to unhealthy lifestyles? Thus, the questions are raised: What are HR professionals’ attitudes toward obesity? What are their current practices? What should they be doing?