AUGUST -- 2005

The High Cost of Flirting

According to a new study conducted by Tulane University , it doesn’t pay to flirt. Researchers found that 49% of the MBA graduates interviewed had engaged in some form of provocative behavior such as wearing short skirts, sending flirtatious e-mail or massaging a man’s shoulders in order to advance up the career ladder. The other half (51%) said they had ever engaged in any form of sexually provocative behavior. The research pool consisted of 164 women, ages 25 through 60. The average respondent was 43 and earned her MBA degree 12 years ago.

But the flirtatious pay a high price. Surveyors found that those who never flirted earned an average of three promotions compared to the two promotions earned by the flirtatious group. Similarly, those who never used their sexuality received average compensation of $75,000-$100,000 compared to $50,000-$75,000 earned by the flirtatious.

Researchers drew their conclusions after asking a series of 10 questions to all respondents including “I allow men to linger at certain places of my body while hugging them;” or “I tell male co-workers or clients they look sexy or ‘hot.’”

In spite of Donald Trump’s advice for women to “use those God-given assets,” one management consultant insists that the Tulane study confirms what some have known all along, namely, “cleavage is not a plus.”

For more on this study, click here.

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