(Job) Hopping Through the Class-Ceiling: Understanding Barriers to Career Progression in a Changing Workforce
Whilst 70% of working-class individuals experience some upward mobility, only 10-11% enter elite professions (Social Mobility Commission, 2023; Friedman, 2022), who proceed to earn 16% less than their upper-class colleagues (Laurison & Friedman, 2016). Thus, socially mobile working-class employees face a “class-ceiling”, hindering their career progression even after entering elite occupations (Friedman & Laurison, 2019). Job-hopping has emerged as a powerful strategy for career progression (Lake et al., 2018). While job-hopping can foster skill development, its benefits may not be equally accessible to all (DiRenzo & Greenhaus, 2011). Structural inequalities and psychological barriers mean individuals from different social class backgrounds face different opportunities and challenges in leveraging job mobility for career advancement (Friedmann & Laurison, 2019). This research investigates whether motivational factors and employer discrimination against socially mobile individuals from working-class backgrounds contribute to lower job-hopping rates and, thus, this class ceiling. Asking, "How does class-origin influence job-hopping intentions?" the proposal is structured into three interconnected work packages, combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies to analyse the research questions. Work package (WP) one utilises semi-structured interviews to uncover the subjective employer and employee interpretation of job-hopping across different class-origins. WP2 explores how social and psychological capital mediates the relationship between class origin and job-hopping intentions over time. WP3 sheds insight on employer biases by evaluating how different CV attributes (job-hopping frequency, class origin, age, and ethnicity) shape employers’ perceptions of candidates. Understanding how systemic inequalities shape job-hopping behaviour and employer biases is critical to designing interventions that foster healthy, thriving communities by creating equitable opportunities for career advancement.