“It’s Not Worth It!” How the Stress of Higher Status Contributes to Advancement Hesitancy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24214762 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Wilton Hill (0009-0004-8768-8545, University of Toronto, ON, Canada), Philip Badawy (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada), Schieman (0000-0003-2882-0417, University of Toronto, ON, Canada), A Narisada (0000-0002-2904-0431, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-09-29 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Perspectives (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0731-1214 • E-ISSN: 1533-8673 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/07311214261484570 |
| OpenAlex | W7214754208 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Upward occupational mobility is commonly seen as a desirable outcome—with it comes increased pay, authority, and status. The stress of higher status thesis, however, reveals that higher status jobs are also associated with increased demands, responsibility, and work-life conflict. This conundrum complicates the way workers rationalize prospects of career advancement. Analyzing focus group interviews among a sample of underpaid workers ( N = 22), our results show that in their rationalizations about the prospects of advancement, some underpaid workers anticipate the stress of higher status and express a disinclination toward pursuing upward occupational mobility. Crucial to these deliberations are feelings of being undervalued in their current role, which creates doubts about whether they will be appropriately compensated in a higher status position. Career stage and broader life course considerations also play a key role in determining whether a boost in status is “worth” the associated increase in stress.
Career development · career stages · job demands · life course · Work-life balance · work-life conflict · Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Social Power and Status Dynamics
Stress and the Life Course
Sampling the Stress Universe
Current Issues and Future Directions in Research into the Stress Process
Perceived unfairness and employee health
Justice at the millennium
Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions.
Inequity In Social Exchange
With Greater Power Comes Greater Stress? Authority, Supervisor Support, and Work‐Family Strains
Downloaded Work, Sideloaded Work, and Financial Circumstances
Declining Job Quality in the United States
The Wage Mobility of Low-Wage Workers in a Changing Economy, 1968 to 2014
Who Benefits from a Job Change
Discovering pockets of complexity
Fairness of earnings in Europe
Using thematic analysis in psychology
A Theory of Role Strain
Stepping-Stone" versus "Dead-End" Jobs
The Sociogenesis of Psychological Disorder
Consequences of Routine Work-Schedule Instability for Worker Health and Well-Being
When Workers Care
Scaling Back
Social Conditions As Fundamental Causes of Disease
Thematic Analysis
Family-Friendly' Jobs and Motherhood Pay Penalties
Autonomy in Paid Work and Employee Subjective Well-Being
Underpaid but Satisfied
The Status-Health Paradox
The Nature of Work and the Stress of Higher Status
Age Differentiation and the Life Course
Unfair Pay and Health
Socioeconomic Status and the Relationship Between Under-Reward and Distress
| Highly cited | No |
|---|