[acdha]

It has a lot to do with it. All of the basic primate social dynamics are pretty obvious in the business world when you look around — ever notice how many C-level types there are who are who are tall, played sports in school, have firm handshakes, etc. whose skills don't match their prominence? Physical intimidation will definitely reinforce an existing power imbalance, at least from the perspective of the lower-ranked person being towered over. Look at things like office furniture — who gets the imposing chair, ends up looking down at people on the other side of a massive desk, etc. — and ask why that's so widespread if it doesn't matter.

[strikelaserclaw]

People like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai etc... are not physically intimidating at all. Even if you look at hedge fund managers, a lot of them aren't physically imposing at all. Even looking at world leaders like hitler, stalin, putin, Churchill all of them are short or average height. Modern power isn't about physicality, one person cannot take down even 2 people at once, rather modern notions of power is about control through the exertion of will.

[zozbot234]

> and ask why that's so widespread if it doesn't matter.

Because people like that sort of thing - it's one of the job perks. But if you feel 'towered over' because of it, that's on you. Part of being professional is staying above these silly games.

[acdha]

> But if you feel 'towered over' because of it, that's on you. Part of being professional is staying above these silly games.

Neither of these statements are absolute truths. Physical intimidation is a real effect, and it affects some people disproportionately — a high-status person might not care but someone who already dealing with being one or more degrees out of top status or who has a history of dealing with abuse might notice it more than you think.

Similarly, while it's true that many of us learn to be thick-skinned and ignore things like this, that doesn't mean that it's desirable to have to do so or 100% effective. One of the things you'll learn as you learn more about it is that these small psychological cues can affect you even if you think you're above them and there's a cost to having to think strategically about things like this when the other party can focus their full attention on the surface issue.

Most importantly, almost anyone who is prone to bullying is aware of these dynamics at some level. I'm tall/straight/white/male, never had to worry about finding another job, etc. and I've definitely had interactions where other people afterwards mentioned that they would have been afraid to stand up to someone's bullying because they can't afford the potential backlash. It's like the advice about salary negotiation where people who don't look like me have a LOT more stories about how they tried that with very different results.

[zozbot234]

If you think you're being routinely physically intimidated to the point of feeling stressed out or even threatened, you should absolutely speak up - those things are horrible and nothing can justify them. But as a professional, your very first reflex when facing such things should be to immediately stand back to regain your physical space, then make it clear to whomever you're confronting that you'll want clear and respectful communication from them and they shouldn't be expecting you to flinch. If this is not enough to make them immediately change their tune, you're in a toxic work environment and should plan on polishing up your resume.