Whether it's taking on more responsibilities or staying late in the office, many employees will go above and beyond to try to get a pay rise. But now a study suggests that if you're not good looking, your efforts may be futile. Researchers from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences in Baltimore have uncovered a'striking' link between physical attractiveness and career success. In their study, the team analysed the careers of more than 40,000 graduates who had completed MBAs. They found attractive respondents earned up to 11 per cent more than their colleagues who were seen as less good looking.

Short men and obese women earn up to $1,000 (£700) less per year than their taller, skinnier counterparts, according to a new study into body shape and salary. This is evidence of a long suspected'beauty premium' that suggests physical attractiveness demands a higher value in the labour market, according to lead author Suyong Song from the University of Iowa. Researchers examined data from 2,383 volunteers, including whole body scans and information on their family income and gender. They found that in men earning over $70,000 (£50,000) per year, a centimetre increase in height was worth $1,000 (£700) extra in income per year. For women earning the same amount, every single point decrease in BMI was worth an extra $1,000 (£700) per year in their pay cheque, the researchers discovered.

One reason for the widespread interest in AI is that it has the potential to reduce the degree of bias underpinning human decisions. For example, meta-analytic studies have long highlighted the pervasive nature of bias in hiring and recruitment. Even in the rich and liberal world, there are many biases at play in the workplace, which account for the unmeritocratic or unfair advantage that some groups have over others, irrespective of their actual talent or potential: sexism, racism, and ageism, to name just a few. But one of the most prominent biases is hardly ever discussed or acknowledged, namely the beauty bias -- also known as "lookism." Indeed, the existence of a beauty premium in the labor market is well-documented.