Being attractive is usually seen as a positive thing in our material world. Most discussions involving hot employees and their jobs used to suggest the same. While I wouldn't suggest the prevailing trend has reversed, many have suggested the opposite may be true in some cases. Everyone recalls the Citibank employee who was 'fired for being too sexy.' I refuse to get into a lengthy conversation about it, as we definitely don't have all the facts, but it is an interesting case you should become familiar with.

Elizabeth Bromstein recently wrote a great blog on Workopolis about whether or not being hot could prevent you from being hired. The blog also discusses the idea of competition among same-sex employees, as well as a myriad of other interesting sexual statistics.

The most interesting profession in regards to sexuality has got to be that of a teacher/professor. EVERYBODY has had a teacher-figure that they were attracted to at some point in their education I'm sure. They were, or maybe are, often the topic of idle, or not so idle, chatter amongst your peers and yourself. High school teachers are a natural target for this sort of attraction, considering hormones and puberty. Beth Aviv recently wrote a great article for Salon Magazine concerning”hot young teachers.” The perspective is a fresh one, as it is told from the view of a not-so-young, and not-so-hot group of teachers, who are struggling to find jobs when stacked up against this new wave of female teachers.

I want to mention another struggle female employees are having due to their attractiveness; namely, attractive female professors. Dr. Ebony Utley wrote an article concerning the way some of her male students don't show her enough respect, and ask her out on dates even. I found this curious, but not altogether surprising. The most surprising part was how much this apparently shocked her, even though she talks about how important sex appeal is in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, which discusses attractive professors.

This issue doesn't just apply to female professors, as you'll notice from reading the Chronicle of Higher Education article linked above. Dr Gary A. Hoover actually moved 45 minutes away from the campus he teaches on, just so he would not run into any of his potential students and create an awkward, and potentially ethically-ambiguous situation.

The opinion on whether attractiveness is a burden or an asset is still on-going. Among professors, some just find it flat out hilarious either way (as referenced in the Chronicle of Higher Education article). One professor actually thought it was a joke when he heard he had been named to the famous Lemondrop list for hot male professors. There is a co-ed version of the list here.

What are your thoughts on attractiveness in the workplace? Does it hurt or help your career? Are professors and teachers in a unique situation with this dilemma?