‘Um, err, ahh…’ Careers practitioners’ perceptions of weight: A thematic analysis

Abstract

With 61% of the UK population being overweight, it is likely that career professionals will encounter overweight clients. Even though being overweight is thought to be potentially detrimental to career development, there is little theory or advice to help career practitioners have productive conversations about the issue. This paper reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study exploring the experiences of six career coaches discussing issues of weight with clients. Results show participants felt deeply uncomfortable with the topic, and were ambivalent about the appropriateness of discussing it within career conversations, despite acknowledging that being overweight can impact negatively on employment.