Cyber‐Vetted Behind the Smokescreen: The Evaluations of Cigarette and Cannabis Smokers in Hiring

ABSTRACT A history of cannabis prohibition and tobacco/drug‐control campaigns has created negative stereotypes around cigarette and cannabis users. Cyber‐vetting, where organizations scan prospective employees’ online footprints, has also risen. This research integrates stereotyping and personnel selection literatures to examine whether cyber‐vetted knowledge of job applicants’ private smoking behaviors influences assessor evaluations regardless of interview performance. It also examines the implications of when cyber‐vetting takes place. Three experiments with student and professional samples paired social media cyber‐vetting with realistic video‐based interview simulations in North American jurisdictions where recreational cannabis is legal. In Study 1, 224 Canadian business students, role‐playing as hiring managers, gave lower ratings to cigarette and cannabis smokers. A high‐quality interview, while helpful, did not overcome the lowered evaluations. In Study 2 (with 318 Canadian business students), we used the Stereotype Content Model to show the indirect impact of smoking status on expected counterproductive workplace behaviors and final evaluations via diminished competence and warmth perceptions. In Study 3, 185 HR professionals in California also rated smokers unfavorably. While overall evaluations were higher when cyber‐vetting occurred pre‐ versus post‐interview for cannabis smokers, no significant differences were found for cigarette smokers. Overall, we highlight implications for smokers’ employability as cyber‐vetting and legal access to cannabis both gain traction.