Would you hire someone visibly anorexic?

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I’m looking for honest (even if brutal) answers.

It shouldn't make a difference. Everyone would prefer to employ perfect people but unfortunately that doesn't exist.

Usually it's a disciplined illness and comes with other things too like anxiety, ocd.
Due to anorexia, usually they get iller than usual with things like coughs and colds. So this could mean more time off

I guess I'm projecting my own work ethic and belief that people should be given an opportunity.

Yes of course, it works for extreme either end of the scale unfortunately

In today’s obeseogenic society, thin or anorexic is sometimes used to describe people who are in fact a normal weight.

How do people know so many anorexics? I’ve been aware of 2 women in my lifetime who I’ve encountered at the gym and were both obsessive exercisers. What struck me was not just the thinness but the peach fuzz I could see on their arms. I can’t imagine being in a position to see that otherwise and presume most sufferers are adept at covering up in baggy clothes. So I doubt I would know for certain that a thin person was anorexic. Whether I would recruit them knowing for sure would depend on the vacancy, how central it was to the business and the standard of other candidates.

Yes and yes, and I have. Perfectionists are bloody brilliant in some jobs and we both get a lot out of it.

Unleas you work alone I'm surprised you've not come across employees who are poor at their jobs or unsuitable applicants for all kinds of positions

Or even in everyday life encountered rubbish customer service or bad workmanship

You having good work ethic is nothing to do with employees giving unsuitable applicants jobs

We have no idea if the OP is a good candidate, not getting a job may be nothing to do with what she looks like

I'd have no issues.

As you wanted a blunt answer - someone with the mentality/will-power to withhold/restrict food in such a way are often VERY determined people who can apply the same mentality to their job. A determination to succeed. And usually a determination to appear normal and not take time off because you need to keep going.

Actually, a friend with the same ED was actually "saved" by her job for this very reason - she put her heart and soul into her work and ended up realising she was good at what she was doing and stopped focusing on the food so much and made a very successful career for herself in retail.

What’s your thinking on hiring alcoholics (not those in recovery) ?

Also, I'm sorry I didn't catch your update till now, & I wish you well, in everything.
Hope you get the job if you want it, our illness should not be discriminated against; especially as only 4-6% of people with eating disorders are underweight so imagine how many people with hidden variants are in employment.

It’s not uncommon for people to be denied employment because they’re fat.

I said that earlier. Very true.

Not sure what type of job you’re applying for OP, but as someone in a corporate setting, provided the candidate was well presented and demonstrated the knowledge, experience and soft skills required for the role, it wouldn’t be a problem for me.

As a teen I was anorexic, and even now at the age of 42, I still don’t have an entirely healthy relationship with food and my weight / body image. I can’t trust myself to have weighing scales in my house as I will become fixated and during any periods of stress my natural response is to stop eating.

Best of luck with the job search. It is a tough market out there at the moment, but don’t be discouraged. You’ll find the right role eventually.

That's decent of you.

I hazard a guess that you never had nor have cared for with someone with the condition? What an absolutely stupid comment.

Girls' school. A competitive one. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Well to be fair that doesn't really make any difference, because it would also be quite reasonable for an employer to refuse to hire your friend with cancer even if she interviewed well, seeing as she's likely to need a lot of time off for medical reasons. Or because she might struggle to keep up with the physical/mental demands of the job due to her illness. I'm assuming the posters who gave reasons like these are going to be logically consistent no matter the specific nature of the medical condition, right..?

Not the person you're replying to, but if it was severe enough to affect their performance in the interview then I wouldn't hire them, on the basis that they didn't do well in the interview. If it wasn't, then I would hire them because presumably I'd have no way of knowing they were an alcoholic anyway. Not sure what the difficulty is there?

I feel the same.

We all deep down know the facts.
No business is going to hire anyone risky, if they can help it. Thats just good business, good business sense.

Employers interviewing weigh up all sorts of issues, experience, skills, how reliable candidate is, plus many other factors. It's extremely competitive, the job market. You have 2 equality good candidates. Are you going to hire 1? Or the other with a disability / health condition / MH issue / anorexia/ list of 100'd of issues. (And yes I myself have a health condition from birth). But we all know that it's sensible to hire employee 1. Why take the extra risk?

Who? The OP?

Presumably you've read Op's update by now.

What were you saying about assuming?

I’d say it depends on how unwell you are and what the job is.

I felt freezing and very tired when I was anorexic and found it difficult to concentrate at times. Working full time was only possible as I had a low grade civil service job which was basically just copy typing and putting phone calls through. Everyone is different though and it affects people differently. If you feel physically and cognitively able to do the job consistently and don’t think you’re likely to need much time off, then that’s fine. If you look very unwell i do think interviewers might well not shortlist you as they might assume the worst about your suitability. It’s a horrible condition and really feel for you and anyone else living with it.

Yes and I have previously - they were clearly the best candidate for the job. So long as you are able to do the job well and didn't have a concerning amount of absences, that shouldn't affect things.

As PP has mentioned, maybe highlight the fact that you haven't had absences in previous roles. Everyone has to be off occasionally anyway, due to illness or family commitments.

Good luck OP - I hope you get sorted with a job soon x

Interesting how many people openly admit that they would breach the equalities act.

I wonder how they would feel if they were discriminated against when pregnant or if they had an accident.

Not a chance, my job would be to recommend or decide the best person for the job. If I suspected someone had anorexia then they automatically would not be the best person for the job in my opinion as I would be too concerned with the potential for being off sick/ill whatever. If we empolyed them and their time off became too much it would be an HR minefield with anti-discrimination rules so we wouldn't even consider them in the first place as out #1 candidate.