Social pain minimization mediates weight discrimination’s effects on interpersonal well-being in the workplace

Abstract

Workplace weight discrimination is pervasive and negatively impacts employees and organizations. Yet, little is known about the psychological processes linking weight discrimination and work outcomes. The current research addresses this gap in the research literature by testing emotion invalidation as a mediator of weight stigma’s negative effects on employees. Dehumanizing aspects of weight stigma include the denial of complex emotions, higher-order mental faculties, and professional potential, which were theorized to leave heavy employees feeling invalidated, an experience termed social pain minimization (SPM). Three studies (N_total = 1,097) with cross-sectional, experimental, and multi-wave designs provide convergent support that workplace weight discrimination triggered actual and expected SPM, which in turn negatively impacted perceived organizational support (POS), workplace belonging, and workplace ostracism. These results offer insights into psychosocial processes linking workplace weight discrimination and key indicators of worker well-being. In conjunction with efforts to eliminate workplace weight stigma, organizations need to foster a supportive and emotionally validating climate.