Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 2, 2015 NEWS 3 undergoing cosmetic procedures, said Khanna. "e other thing I think that's also behind this trend is the In- ternet — so the perception that you're going to be out of touch if you're not involved with social media and involved in those as- pects of the new business world," she said. "That's what's driving this whole idea." Another factor is the rise of less invasive procedures, according to Patzer. "Non-invasive procedures have increased dramatically in the last decade. If you look at it annually, cosmetic surgeries have increased every year for the last four or five years… but non-invasive or the minimally invasive procedures have been increasing much (more)," he said. is is perhaps because indi- viduals can get significant results with less cost, less effort and less recovery time, he said. Nips, tucks and promotions It's pretty clear the pressure for cosmetic procedures is there, at least psychologically — but does that translate into actual results? RealSelf conducted a blind study of 400 employees, showing them before and after pictures of indi- viduals who have undergone dif- ference procedures. Individuals who had undergone chin implants, nose jobs and in- jectable fillers actually scored higher in their "after" photos in terms of how creative, motivated and trustworthy people consid- ered them. Women with the Voluma filler, which is used for fine lines and wrinkles, had the most dramatic score increases in how they were perceived by others. But there is a limit to how much these procedures can do, said Daniel Hamermesh, economics professor emeritus at the Univer- sity of Texas in Austin. "There's some evidence that you can look a little bit younger, but you're not going to make a 70-year-old person into a 50-year- old person," he said. "You probably can do some- thing at the margin to make small changes, but they're small changes. "You can make your face look younger, but you've got to re- member that a 70-year-old per- son walks differently and carries himself differently than a 50-year- old person… You convey your age with much more than just your looks once you go for a job inter- view or you're on the job." Regardless of how much of a difference it makes on other peoples' perceptions, cosmetic changes can act as a significant confidence boost for an individual employee, said Patzer. "People who feel that they are more attractive then internalize that and they feel more confident, they have more self-esteem, they tend to be more gregarious and outgoing and such," he said. "In that regard, if we can take an individual such as an older worker and increase his or her physical attractiveness, without question that then increases their appeal on two dimensions. One, other people then react to them more favourably and, in turn, they feel more confident… but they're also getting external veri- fication of the fact that they're more appealing." is is true for any worker, for that matter — not just mature workers, he said. "They are more likely to be slightly more bold or assertive in the workplace." Psychologically, it makes sense, said Shelton. "ey feel that they can pres- ent themselves better to their boss and co-workers, and they're prob- ably more positive." Greater confidence SURGERY < pg. 2 Credit: Robert Galbraith (Reuters) Plastic surgeon Michael Kulick at his practice in San Francisco on July 31. Kulick now spends about 16 hours a week doing tummy tucks and other surgical procedures, double what he did in 2008.

• Cover