Prosocial Occupations, Work Autonomy, and the Origins of the Social Class Pay Gap

Fang, Ray; Tilcsik, András

doi:10.5465/amj.2020.1564

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 139 publications

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“…What, at the social and psychological level, reinforces this pattern, and what are the psychological dynamics it engenders in workers? Social cognitive perspectives on career choice have offered some insights already (Fang & Tilcsik, 2022). What might organizations and communities look like if they place a premium, rather than a penalty, on care rather than initiating structure?…”

Section: Toward An Anti-work Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Anti-work offers many opportunities for I-O psychologists

Alliger,

McEachern

2023

Ind. Organ. Psychol.

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Anti-work philosophy holds that work, in and of itself, tends to be harmful for most people. Some anti-work theorists even advocate for the abolition of paid employment altogether. We argue that, while endorsement of the radical ideology of anti-work is in no way necessary for I/O psychologists, considering the thinking behind these ideas can be beneficial. In fact, reviewing the tenets of anti-work may prompt some to a broad reconsideration of the nature and purpose of the I/O field and its role, nested as it is in potentially problematic power dynamics both within organizations and in broader society. In this article, after describing anti-work’s core tenets, we outline a number of research directions and practical applications inspired by this perspective. While in some cases these may involve the creation of new theory, constructs, and interventions, they often simply entail the repurposing or refocusing of existing ones that are more attuned to the problematic nature of work. Possibilities for research include, but are not limited to, the examination of the prevalence and nature of “managerialism,” how we might better understand the psychological character of organized labor and its outcomes, and how to encourage healthier manifestations of employee engagement. In terms of practice, we bring to the reader’s attention how anti-work might inspire extensions or adjustments in how we recruit and onboard, train managers, improve job characteristics, measure performance and work with unions and other political advocates. Ultimately, consideration of anti-work’s assertion of the inevitable authoritarian character of employment, combined with I/O psychology’s emphases on objectivity and the translation of science into practice, can spark inquiry and innovation.

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Section: Toward An Anti-work Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Anti-work offers many opportunities for I-O psychologists

Alliger,

McEachern

2023

Ind. Organ. Psychol.

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“…However, reductions in between-education group inequality that come from prosocial job meaning could exacerbate other forms of inequality. For example, a recent article finds that, alongside the positive association between education and prosocial work, there is also a negative correlation between class background and prosocial work, which mediates part of the class background pay gap (Fang and Tilcsik forthcoming). Likewise, if women are more likely to value prosocial meaning at work, then prosocial jobs exacerbate gender inequality (Burbano, Padilla, and Meier 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Values and Inequality: Prosocial Jobs and the College Wage Premium

Wilmers

Zhang²

2022

Am Sociol Rev

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Employers often recruit workers by invoking corporate social responsibility, organizational purpose, or other claims to a prosocial mission. In an era of substantial labor market inequality, commentators typically dismiss these claims as hypocritical: prosocial employers often turn out to be no more generous with low-wage workers than are other employers. In this article, we argue that prosocial commitments in fact inadvertently reduce earnings inequality, but through a different channel than generosity. Building on research on job values, we hypothesize that college graduates are more willing than nongraduates to sacrifice pay for prosocial impact. When employers appeal to prosocial values, they can thus disproportionately reduce pay for higher-educated workers. We test this theory with data on online U.S. job postings. We find that prosocial jobs requiring a college degree post lower pay than do standard postings with exactly the same job requirements; prosocial jobs that do not require a college degree, however, pay no differently from other low-education jobs. This gap reduces the aggregate college wage premium by around 5 percent. We present a variety of supplementary evidence using labor market data, worker survey responses, and a vignette experiment with hiring managers. The findings reveal an unintended consequence of employers’ embrace of prosocial values: it offsets macro-level inequality.

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“…Looking at leading management journals, such as the Academy of Management Journal, it is clear how they consider contemporary phenomena central in their publishing strategy. For instance, the Academy of Management Journal recently published articles on contemporary phenomena, including discrimination (de Leon & Rosette, 2022), social class pay gap (Fang & Tilcsik, 2022), racial diversity (Richard et al, 2021), toxic organizations (Kahn & Rouse, 2021), gender differences (Huang et al, 2021), and intelligent machines (Man Tang et al, 2022).…”

Section: Editorial Board Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%