When a person is not treated equally because of their low level of wealth, this is called social class discrimination. Such discrimination prevents the discriminated persons or communities from realizing their full potential. It has an extremely significant impact on the society and their level of development. Social class is usually constructed around features like power, status, geographical location, education, occupation and income. The conflict revolves around two significant players, which are the lower class and the upper class. The upper class consists of the wealthy in society. They are considered the uppermost in status, salaries, wealth and supremacy. On the other hand, the lower class is regarded as the unemployed, the uneducated and low income earners. Indeed, social class can determine with a high degree of certainty which kind of school a person will attended and how successful the individual will become in future. In fact, both the education system and curriculum are designed by the upper class for the upper class. They usually intertwine and manipulated the system with an objective of satisfying their needs and wishes. Being in the upper class division provides individuals with incredible educational and occupational opportunities. Furthermore, it provides one with financial security, a phenomenon that is alien to lower class persons.
The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence require all people to be treated equally. In fact, the Declaration of Independence categorically stipulates that all men were created equal and should be treated as such; discrimination is still a general phenomenon. Indeed, social class discrimination has become more rampant in the modern era because of the increasing gap between the poor and the rich in the society. The constitutional rights of all persons require that they be treated fairly and equally. The government and the society at large have an obligation to provide equal opportunities and benefits to all people in different social, economic and political spheres. It can be argued that the high levels of deprivations and poverty in today’s society are direct consequences of deep rooted social class systems and structures. This paper will attempt to analyze social class discrimination phenomenon in the workplace and its consequences. A candid discussion will be presented on the consequences of social class discrimination at the workplace impacts on the lives of people.
The working environment serves as an essential and fundamental part of a person’s occupation. Indeed, working not only serves to equip one with skills, knowledge and expertise to carry out his or her duties efficiently, but also serves as an avenue to interact with the rest of the community and create a network of friends and acquaintances. The workplace is ideally supposed to be a discrimination-free area where social and professional discussions can take place without any barriers. Unfortunately, this has never been the case. Social class discrimination is a live phenomenon in most organizations not only within the United States, but also around the globe. Statistics indicate that in most organizations, an employee’s social class significantly influences their work performance.
Additionally, occupational success has for a long time been a preserve of the upper class. In most cases, social class discrimination at the workplace manifests itself through the nature of criteria used to determine issues rather than open bias. These decisions end up negatively affecting employees from lower class division of the society. These issues that affect lower class employees by hindering them from realizing the opportunities presented by their jobs and continues to be a barrier in life. Furthermore, the meritocratic programs and grading criteria have been used to perpetuate rather than eliminate social, economic and occupational inequality in organizations. Studies have shown that employees from upper class divisions of society receive more rewards than lower class counterparts.
On the other hand, employees with lower class receive the harshest criticism from the management and other organizational stakeholders. Indeed, research indicates that managers from organizations that have many employees from upper class families have more and closer contacts with their managers. They also tend to create a friendly ambience between the employer and the employee, therefore, eliminating room for conflicts. This increases the level of interaction between the employer and the employee which in turn benefits the employee. Employees get a high level of reinforcement. The reverse is true for lower class employees. Employers have a hostile relationship with their employees and have a high tendency of criticizing their every action. This demoralizes employees turning them into rebels. It is also extremely vital to understand the fact that managers are biased towards lower class employees is highly influenced by other external factors. Factors such as behavioral differences, ability and performance tend to favor employees from the upper class division. On the other hand, managers have a tendency to favor high achievers. The fact that circumstances give the upper class employees an edge towards becoming high achievers may not necessarily relate to the fact that employers like upper class employees. However, studies indicate that employers prefer employees from the upper class. They are usually given more responsibilities to shoulder. For example, some employers may select them as team leaders or place them in charge of projects. Belonging to the upper class seem to make an employee much more successful than an employee from a lower class.
Social class discrimination at the workplace has also become a conundrum and a threat to the bill of rights and freedoms of employees. Studies indicate that though social class discrimination at the workplace may be unconscious, the majority of human resource managers believe it is an ongoing practice. Though daily workings of corporate culture may be refined, social class discrimination mostly affects individuals during promotion and recruitment opportunities. Human resource departments appear to be perpetuating inequality and equity by favoring individuals who are identified with the upper class. In most cases, individuals favored may have attended Ivy League schools, have a political godfather or have connections to the Board of Governors. Surprisingly, some of these individuals may lack all these connections but they still get promoted only because the management admires their sense of entitlement. Ironically, while numerous human resource managers appreciate that social class discrimination is a problem; few are willing to support a legislative agenda to address these challenges. Therefore, inequality continues to be perpetuated even in areas where one least expects it. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.
Apart from perpetuating inequality, unfairness and poverty, social class discrimination also leads to poor health among the low class, which affects their service delivery at the work place. This is because it is significantly associated with psychological effects that lead to poor health. There are many studies that have been carried out on the subject matter and reemphasizing the link between poor health and poverty and deprivation is trite. The level of stress induced by social class discrimination is essential factor in determining the significance of poverty on the health of individuals, especially those in the lower class. While the reason for this type of discrimination at the workplace is not usually understandable by the victim because they all perform the same duties, the experience is subtle and dire. Studies use the stress levels of victims and measures of blood pressure to determine the extent of the discrimination. Frequent exposure to stress resulting from the fact that one belongs to the lower class lead to negative health results. This hinders the ability of an employee to perform effectively and thus makes them seem clumpy or incompetent. Studies indicate that people who have been have reported incidences of discrimination based on these factors indicated high levels of stress and, therefore, they had the worst health results. It has been argued that more than 10% of negative health effects affecting employees who live in poverty can be directly be ascribed to perceived social class discrimination at their place of work.
It is vital that the government and the society at large realize that social class discrimination has become a prevalent tragedy that needs to be addressed. There are many ways that the society can tackle this conundrum. Legislations can be drafted to ensure that any form of class discrimination is prohibited not only at the workplace but in all sectors of life. However, it is one thing to forbid people to do something and another to actually change their attitudes towards their poorer colleagues and workmates. Therefore, a public discourse and campaign should be initiated to educate the public on the negative and devastating effects caused by social class discrimination. Empowering the people through civil education will significantly help in changing people’s mindset about social class discrimination. It is in the interest of everyone to have a just, equal and fair society.
References
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Korgen, K. O. (2010). Multiracial Americans and Social Class: The Influence of Social Class on Racial Identity. New York: Routledge.
