The context of low socioeconomic status can undermine people’s motivation for financial success

Laurin, Kristin; Engstrom, Holly R.

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.016

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Several themes emerged from the over 75 articles and chapters related to mobility. Much of the research represented a functionalist approach, though more recent work has begun to challenge the traditional explanations and to account for the more nuanced systemic processes that influence the attitudes and behaviors that shape ideas about (im)mobility (Laurin & Engstrom, 2020; Parks-Yancy, DiTomaso, & Post, 2007).…”

Section: Getting Up and Dropping Downmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a more explicit critique, Laurin and Engstrom (2020) acknowledged the shortcoming of perspectives that solely consider structural barriers or individual-level attributions for immobility. They theorized that structural inequality may encourage beliefs that discourage upward mobility among lower social class members, such as “my abilities do not measure up” or “even if my abilities did measure up, they would not be fairly rewarded” (Laurin & Engstrom, 2020: 106).…”

Section: Getting Up and Dropping Downmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When individuals step through an organization’s door, their current and past social class standing shapes their future experience. Indeed, extant research suggests that social class relates to employment opportunities (Fang & Saks, 2021; Rivera, 2015), psychological tendencies (Côté, Piff, & Willer, 2012; Kraus & Keltner, 2013; Piff & Robinson, 2017), achievement (Dittmann, Stephens, & Townsend, 2020), interactions with coworkers (Gray & Kish-Gephart, 2013; Kallschmidt & Eaton, 2019), management expectations (Leana & Meuris, 2015; Pitesa & Pillutla, 2019; Ridgeway & Fisk, 2012), and ability to scale job levels (Fisher, O’Connell, & Oyserman, 2017; Laurin & Engstrom, 2020), among others.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Social Class and Work: A Review and Organizing Framework

Kish-Gephart

Moergen

Tilton

et al. 2022

Journal of Management

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Over the past decade, the topic of social class in organizations has enjoyed unexpected growth. However, management researchers lack an in-depth understanding of what we know (and do not know) about the role of social class in organizations. This lack of understanding is exacerbated by the fragmentation of extant research across disciplinary and paradigmatic lines. Accordingly, in this paper, we review over 400 quantitative, qualitative, and conceptual articles and offer an in-depth look at the current state of literature on social class and work. Specifically, we introduce a framework for organizing extant social class research and draw attention to the institutionalization of social class distinctions in organizations. We also identify opportunities for scholars to engage understudied areas and to connect across paradigms. Overall, we hope to fuel future research and further organizational scholars’ understanding of this complex yet impactful phenomenon.

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Section: Getting Up and Dropping Downmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Getting Up and Dropping Downmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Class and Work: A Review and Organizing Framework

Kish-Gephart

Moergen

Tilton

et al. 2022

Journal of Management

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“…They are more likely to attribute economic success to meritocratic factors and amplify the role of personal merit or hardship in their success (Phillips & Lowery, 2020). In contrast, the motivation to try hard and the significance of individual efforts for success among the lower class are generally impeded in the face of unattainable success and fierce competition in an unequal society (Laurin & Engstrom, 2020;Kraus et al, 2009;Kuhn, 2019). Accordingly, we posited that with the increasing perception of inequality, the lower class is less likely to believe in meritocratic values than their upper-class counterparts.…”

Section: Socioeconomic Status As Moderatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Inequality Perception Dampens Meritocratic Belief in China: The Mediating Role of Perceived Distributive Unfairness

Zhu¹,

Cheng²,

Li³

et al. 2022

rips

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In three studies, we investigated the impact of economic inequality on beliefs about meritocracy and potential mechanisms among the Chinese. Study 1 (N = 19,641) longitudinally substantiated that beliefs about meritocracy abate in tandem with the increasing inequality perception but not objective economic inequality (Gini coefficient). Studies 2a (N = 140) and 2b (N = 269) experimentally showed that inequality perception decreases belief in meritocracy. The lower classes were less willing to believe in meritocracy than the upper classes when exposed to inequality cues (Studies 1 and 2b). In Study 3 (N = 218), we again manipulated the level of economic inequality and found that laypeople construing distribution as unfair mediated the relationship between inequality perception and meritocratic belief. We highlighted that people's interpretation of economic inequality might influence their beliefs about merit.

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“…Why do educators need to address social class in the business classroom? Simply put, social class profoundly impacts who experiences advantage and who experiences disadvantage in work organizations, starting as early as application and selection for a job (Friedman & Laurison, 2019; Rivera, 2015), and remains so even after individuals walk through an organization’s front door—from interacting with coworkers (Gray & Kish-Gephart, 2013; Kallschmidt & Eaton, 2019) to achieving performance outcomes (Dittmann et al, 2020; Markus & Fiske, 2012) to scaling organizational levels (Fisher, O'Donnell et al, 2017; Laurin & Engstrom, 2020), to name only a few. Furthermore, organizations often act as sites for the reproduction of social class inequality (Amis et al, 2020; Gray & Kish-Gephart, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing “Class” into the Classroom: Addressing Social Class Privilege Through Management Education

Moergen

Kish-Gephart

2022

Journal of Management Education

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Research increasingly acknowledges the far-reaching impact of social class and the many ways in which it can meaningfully shape individuals’ work and working lives. As such, social class and concomitant class privilege represent relevant and necessary content for the management classroom. In this paper, we begin by offering an overview of select research addressing social class and work, which helps to emphasize the significance of social class in organizational life. Next, to help educators bring “class” into the management classroom, we present teaching resources from across disciplines. We also advocate for educator reflexivity, the development of broader vocabularies around social class, and engagement with activities that increase students’ understanding of class-based inequalities at the individual, institutional, and social or cultural levels. Overall, we bring together research and resources that relate to social class and work, to not only inspire and inform management educators, but also to offer resources that help students prepare for navigating a class-diverse workplace.

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The context of low socioeconomic status can undermine people’s motivation for financial success

Cited by 8 publications

References 61 publications

Social Class and Work: A Review and Organizing Framework

Social Class and Work: A Review and Organizing Framework

Economic Inequality Perception Dampens Meritocratic Belief in China: The Mediating Role of Perceived Distributive Unfairness

Bringing “Class” into the Classroom: Addressing Social Class Privilege Through Management Education

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