Women In The Workplace: Most Women Look In The Mirror 8 Times A Day, Survey Shows

Mirror, Mirror on the wall … or the car window, or your smartphone? According to a new study, women check their reflections around eight times a day, and use any number of surfaces to do so, reported the Daily Mail.

The study, conducted by UK-based company Simple Skincare, surveyed 2,000 British women about their daily mirror-using habits. The results indicated that the majority of women feel compelled to consistently check their appearance throughout the day. Fifty percent of women reported that they wouldn’t leave their homes without some sort of mirror, and 10 percent of participants said that they use their compacts at least 10 times a day. The most common reasons listed for looking in the mirror were applying touch-ups to hair or makeup.

These results line up with findings from another UK survey released in March, which discovered that two-thirds of women found the prospect of going to work without makeup on to be more stressful than a job interview or a first date. Seventy percent of women reported that they wouldn’t go to the office without makeup on, while 31 percent wouldn’t even show up for a workout bare-faced.

The new survey also found that although women dedicate significant time to keeping up their appearances, they don't necessarily enjoy the process. About 75 percent of the women who participated told Simple Skincare that they “hate” looking in the mirror, while 39 percent reported that it negatively impacted their self-confidence.

So why continue these time-consuming beauty routines if they’re not even making us feel good? The answer, unsurprisingly, may be social pressure. “There is so much more attention on how women look compared with how men look, and women who constantly check their appearance are more likely to be self-conscious than vain,” Dr. Christine Bundy, a Senior Lecturer in Health and Medical Psychology at the University of Manchester told the Daily Mail.

This to female appearance extends to the workplace, according to a number of studies released in the last few years, and can impact perceptions of a female worker's traits and abilities. A survey commissioned by Proctor & Gamble last October found that the amount of makeup a woman wears impacts her perceived attractiveness, likeability, competence and trustworthiness, but the same survey found that women who wore “too much” makeup were perceived as less trustworthy (though still more competent and attractive than their fresh-faced colleagues). And another survey released in November 2011 found that 1/3 of British bosses thought that female workers looked too done up. When it comes to attractiveness -- especially in the workplace -- it may be hard for some women to feel like they’ve ever got it right. It's enough to make you double-check your reflection all day long.

Comments

[Eli Rife]

08:09 PM on 05/20/2012

Sad, women are brainwashed to be attractive and 'pretty' since childhood (pretty pretty princess anyone?) then get told their vain AND not thin enough/naturally beautiful/not woman enough....ect.

[Otherday]

02:10 PM on 05/16/2012

Narcissism?

[shortguy54]

07:58 AM on 05/16/2012

Why do women look in the mirror so often? Um, because they're vain?

[leftfieldleftie]

03:59 PM on 05/15/2012

You know some of there articles just crack me up. 'Women look in the mirror more than men', 'Men have bigger brains than women' and 'Men have healthier orgasms than women.' give me a break will you, skinny (yes you rmayard) primped and fashionably clothed equals beautiful, my big round butt! Confidence, intelligence and courage are beautiful in women and men. Looks is a added bonus and looking in a mirror 8 times a day = brushing your teeth twice, washing your face twice, brushing your hair once, that leaves applying make-up or moisturizer and removal of make-up if you wear it. and once or twice while washing your hands after using the facilities. That doesn't seem like much to me and defiantly not vanity.

[Tawny Rabon]

03:32 PM on 05/15/2012

Well I will be the first to say I'm guilty of looking in the mirror every chance I get. I'm very self conscious of how I look because I am 6"2 and I am noticed everywhere I go. I look into the mirror because if anything is out of place somewhere it's not suppose to be I want to be the first to see it and correct it. When I was younger my mother always told me I was beautiful I really didn't feel it until I got around 15yrs old. I never really wore makeup the way I have been for the last 3yrs, I still really don't wear much now eyeliner, mascara and eye shadow. I know at this point I wouldn't go to work without it.

[LeeLoPink]

09:27 AM on 05/15/2012

How many times a day do men look in the mirror? Probably the exact same as women. Humans are humans and a man can be just as vain as a woman. jeez.

[AHuffPostReader]

11:23 AM on 05/15/2012

Pro-anorexia, are you?

[shortguy54]

07:59 AM on 05/16/2012

Might be true if all women were 5 foot 4 or shorter!

[Brianna Cole]

12:32 AM on 05/15/2012

I look every time I pass a reflective surface. Not because I am vain, but because I am insecure. It is that simple.

[Brianna Cole]

02:14 AM on 05/15/2012

WWOOOOOWWW. As if fat people cannot be secure with themselves... No, my picture here is squished.... You can tell from the odd shape it made my head...... I was born with Cleft Lip Cleft Palate. I am insecure about that.

[Kay Nicks]

06:04 PM on 05/14/2012

Well, there are those of us who take pride in how we look. And then there are those that could not possibly own a mirror, based on how they go out in public.
That being said, which would you prefer?

[Andrea in the City]

03:51 PM on 05/14/2012

umm I look at my reflection in the mirror everytime I use the bathroom as the mirror is directly infront of the sink. Nothing much deeper than that.

And grooming is important at work whether you are male or female. You should be clean, ironed clothing that aligns with the dress code, and too much make up along with too much perfume/cologna is a no no.