Social capital, status and income attainment in the workplace

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of social capital in the workplace. To be more precise, to ask whether access to social capital is associated with differences in the wages and status of employees within the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used data from a case study of the status attainment of employees in a Swedish industrial firm.FindingsResults demonstrate that: the socioeconomic background, gender and “migrant backgrounds” of employees have an impact on their access to resource‐rich networks; and there is a positive association between access to social capital and position in the organization, even after controlling for employees' education and labor market experience.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study approach of the paper has its own characteristic limitations. At the same time the cross‐sectional data open up the possibility of reverse causality. The analysis includes only individuals who were still working, while we know from the fieldwork that some former employees have taken early retirement or disability pensions due to occupational injury.Originality/valueThe focus of the paper is on the process of status attainment of subordinate groups (individuals from lower socioeconomic groups, individuals with stigmatized migrant backgrounds, and women), which is an under‐researched issue in organizational studies. Therefore, the authors ask whether the subordinate status of employees has an impact on their access to social capital in the place of work.