Class and Organizing

Abstract

Social class is a complex phenomenon that impacts organizing practices at individual, group, organizational, institutional, and societal levels. In this entry, various dimensions of social class are overviewed, including social identity, type of labor, dignity, dominant discourses, communication, and social mobility. Social class is considered to be deeply rooted in social identities as well as more macrolevel manifestations, such as labor practices. As a historically pervasive manifestation, social class is globally present in material and discursive reality. Organizational communication scholars have identified ways in which social class influences our communication, dignity, and social mobility. Recent theorizing about the relationship between social class and communication points to future directions for research. Scholars have an opportunity to explore the intersection of social class with a myriad of other phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective in order to better understand its power and function both within and outside organizational contexts.

The communicative construction of workplace flexibility stigma

“…However, communication scholars have argued social class is both material and discursive (e.g. Dougherty, 2011;Gist, 2017;Lucas, 2011). Thus, this dissertation takes a more nuanced approach to social class.…”

“…Social class's complexity and fluid nature makes it difficult to define (Dougherty, 2011). Often, scholars use stand-ins such as income, education, or type of labor to define social class (Gist, 2017). For example, low-wage workers are defined in terms of the poverty line or other income levels.…”