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A Nose Job Can Improve How You Feel About Your Actual Job

But it's probably not the surgery, but how you feel about yourself, that counts.
People who had facial surgery then reported higher job satisfaction.
GARO/PHANIE via Getty Images
People who had facial surgery then reported higher job satisfaction.

Most people who get cosmetic enhancements report higher job satisfaction and less burn out after the procedure.

But, before you sign up to go under the knife, it's worth noting that researchers say it's probably down to increased self confidence, not the surgery itself.

In Australia, one in every 16 people has had some form of plastic surgery and this University of Melbourne study involved mostly female patients from two major private aesthetic plastic surgery clinics in Melbourne aged between 19 and 68.

The most common procedure they got was nose surgery, then eyelid surgery, and a facelift.

Afterwards, 91 percent were more satisfied with their job, including attitudes to co-workers and pay, while 93 percent said they felt less emotionally drained from work.

Researcher Alicia Kalus said that while studies have previously linked attractiveness to relative job success, this study didn't indicate people were treated better or differently after surgery.

"Our findings, however, showed that changed self-esteem following aesthetic surgery influenced how people felt about their work," Kalus said.

If workplaces reward talent and effort, women and girls may come to rely less on the traditional emphasis on beauty as a basis for self-esteem.Alicia Kalus

"It supports other research which shows that job success is partly a result of the fact that people who think they are beautiful have high self-esteem."

Kalus said the study, published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, suggested people felt better when they thought they looked better.

"This situation can be partly explained by the different opportunities historically available to different genders, in which beauty was an important factor for female advancement," she said.

"Rewarding beauty is not good for companies. In most jobs, beauty is not a productive resource. Companies should focus on rewarding only those qualities that are linked to performance.

"If workplaces reward talent and effort, women and girls may come to rely less on the traditional emphasis on beauty as a basis for self-esteem."

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