Man Bringing Scales Into Work to Weigh His 'Slim' Colleagues Sparks Debate

An employee who brought scales into his workplace to weigh his "slim" employees has sparked debate after a person who said that this happened at their workplace took to Mumsnet to gain opinions.

"I work in an office with around 20 other people. A colleague has started bringing in scales so that he and others can weigh themselves in front of others," the Mumsnet user wrote in a post titled "colleague brings scales to work and starts weighing people."

"Everyone stands in a circle around the scales and watches while they take it in turns to weigh themselves. So far, I have managed to avoid being asked to weigh myself in front of the others, perhaps because I am overweight.

The Mumsnet user continued that the management team at this workplace are unbothered by what is going on, and that they are even encouraging it by joining in and weighing themselves.

Since it was shared to the social media platform on March 23 by @SFG112112, the post, which can be seen here, has been commented on more than 380 times. The majority of Mumsnet users have raised eyebrows at the man's unusual obsession with weighing his co-workers.

"That's not on, if they want to do it they should go somewhere private not out in the office in front of everyone. That could be incredibly triggering for anyone who has or has had an eating disorder," one user commented. "It's also unprofessional it's work not weight watchers."

"To what end? Are they on a health kick and want to track progress? Your post infers they are just doing it as a thing to do which is odd behavior," another user said.

A different user added: "If they're doing it because a group of them are collectively trying to improve their health that's one thing, but the line in the sand is whether they're trying to coerce/bully/"encourage" other people to join in.

"If a minority of people are doing it and there are no comments or invitations to other people to join in it's OK. If they invite you, that's not. If everyone does it except you, that's not OK other, it's indirect bullying."

How Can You Practice Body Positivity?

While there has been no suggestion that the original poster's workplace environment is a hostile one, or one that shames employees for their body type, the post has generated debate online about whether or not this behavior is healthy.

The general consensus is that workplaces should practice and promote messages of body positivity, and that they should not discriminate based on an employee's weight.

The Wellbeing Trust is a foundation that advocates for mental health in the U.K. It cites using positive affirmations as being a way in which people can begin to practice and promote body positivity.

"One of the most basic and effective ways we can practice self-love is to speak it aloud and speak it often, especially when it feels hard to be grateful for our bodies," the Wellbeing Trust says.

"Give yourself daily, verbal encouragements and reminders. This may mean saying a kind thing to yourself in the mirror in the morning, or placing encouraging sticky notes on your bedside table, or even putting daily encouragements into your phone or computer. Look for self-love and body-positive mantras that speak to you."

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