{"id":29461,"date":"2022-05-04T00:22:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T00:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=29461"},"modified":"2022-05-05T12:22:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T12:22:14","slug":"i-didnt-feel-as-if-i-fitted-in-at-all-the-real-life-challenges-of-social-mobility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/i-didnt-feel-as-if-i-fitted-in-at-all-the-real-life-challenges-of-social-mobility\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I didn\u2019t feel as if I fitted in at all\u2019: the real-life challenges of social mobility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Samantha Evans<\/a>, University of Kent<\/a><\/em> and Madeleine Wyatt<\/a>, King’s College London<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of social mobility seem to be widely agreed on. The idea that a person\u2019s opportunities and earnings should not be defined by their background is supported across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, attempts to make society more mobile and to equalise opportunities have proved to be frustrating<\/a> and complex. And nor is it easy for the people who do achieve this goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research<\/a> suggests that people who move away from their roots can find the experience challenging. This is especially true if colleagues and employers are not supportive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees across a range of occupations spoke to us about their experiences of social class during childhood, at work, and at home. Those who had \u201cbenefited\u201d from social mobility said they often found it difficult to adjust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some felt under pressure to change mannerisms, adjust their accents and conceal behavioural habits to fit into a workplace where class differences were prominent. As one person in our study told us: \u201cThe [work] culture is very middle class, where it might be that you can quote Latin, that you drink wine rather than beer, that you socialise in a certain way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others who had been socially mobile described instances at work where they had been ridiculed for background, had their professionalism questioned, and regularly suffered discriminatory microaggressions. One participant recalled: \u201c[A colleague] made a formal complaint about me, saying I was unprofessional, and he actually used the words, \u2018How can she meet anyone speaking like that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get mocked. it\u2019s not a regular thing, but I don\u2019t hide the fact I\u2019m [working] class. There\u2019s kind of a joke that I have progressed quite a lot from [where] my class suggests I should be.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As a result, some said they tried to conceal their background by avoiding social situations, staying quiet in meetings, and even leaving their roles. One explained: \u201cI didn\u2019t feel as if I fitted in at all. I felt completely uncomfortable there, as they were a different type of people totally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added: \u201cI felt very lonely and just couldn\u2019t face working there any longer, so I resigned\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also found that the socially mobile encountered similar problems in their social and personal lives. Some felt the need to hide their social mobility when at home by adjusting their accent and vocabulary or avoiding discussions of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One explained: \u201cIf I\u2019m home, then I\u2019m speaking differently, and I do it because I\u2019ve got a lot of friends who probably didn\u2019t get the [same opportunities] and I want to melt back in with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One participant told how he had even detached from family relationships because of his social mobility. \u201cI don\u2019t think I fit in with my dad\u2019s family anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey just don\u2019t understand my job so I can\u2019t communicate with them because they don\u2019t understand what it feels like [\u2026] so I just don\u2019t go and see them that often.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many socially mobile employees felt they had to act all the time, constantly shifting their behaviours to fit in at home and work. One admitted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You feel insecure and a little bit at sea. I just thought, \u2018I\u2019m inadequate\u2019. It\u2019s tarring because you\u2019re aware of it and looking out for it and you\u2019re never utterly secure in any situation, including the one you left.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Authenticity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In comparison, we found that people who had remained within the social class of their childhood found the process of moving between work and home reasonably effortless. They felt more secure and authentic in both environments. One commented: \u201cI don\u2019t conceal my background or social class as I think I can just speak how I am.\u201d Another agreed: \u201cI\u2019ve never felt uncomfortable about my background.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Glass
Different tastes. Shutterstock\/Slawomir Fajer<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While our research suggests numerous difficulties for socially mobile employees, we also found that their range of life experiences provided them with important skills. One participant remarked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I\u2019m quite a social chameleon in the fact that I\u2019ve got a very working-class background, but I went to a grammar school and university. I do find that useful, that I\u2019ve had those different bits in my life which means I know how to talk to people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Employers who recognised the interpersonal skills that socially mobile employees bring to the workplace, and encouraged them to be themselves were perceived as more supportive. Some even provided opportunities for staff to build connections with people from similar backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So although levelling up can be quite a stressful experience, employers and colleagues who celebrate class differences can go a long way to improving the situation. As one participant, who said their employer valued competence over class told us: \u201cI\u2019m good at the job I do and I don\u2019t need to conceal my class because I have other attributes, rather than being well-spoken, which can get me progression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Evans<\/a>, Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of Kent<\/a><\/em> and Madeleine Wyatt<\/a>, Reader in Diversity and Inclusion, King’s College London<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samantha Evans, University of Kent and Madeleine Wyatt, King’s College London The benefits of social mobility seem to be widely agreed on. The idea that a person\u2019s opportunities and earnings should not be defined by their background is supported across the political spectrum. Despite this, attempts to make society more mobile and to equalise opportunities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":29462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,277],"tags":[11758,6116,2688,11759],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29461"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29467,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29461\/revisions\/29467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}