Disability and employment: considering the importance of social capital

Journal of Rehabilitation, July-Sept, 2005 by Blyden Potts

Of the three, human capital has perhaps the most obvious impact on employment. The link between human capital and employment is widely recognized in our culture, and supported by both casual and scientific observation that who occupies a position in our society is based in large part on education and skills. Lack of human capital is likely to be the first explanation we consider when we encounter a person who has been repeatedly unsuccessful finding a job. Discussions of who should be hired often boil down to the question of "Who is best qualified in terms of skills and abilities?" It is interesting to note that the term dis-ability, literally "lacking ability," suggests an implicit human capital perspective on the nature of the problems facing persons with a disability.

It is also widely recognized that cultural capital can be important in getting a job. Subtle cultural practices (e.g. language, humor, conversation styles, fashion, sports) are the basis for rapport in a job interview: in successfully interacting with a boss, coworkers, or a client; building trust; and in fitting into workplace culture generally. Presentation of self via interviews or resumes is a key place where cultural capital bears on the employment process, in part because it provides a basis for employers to assess the social capital employees will bring to the position.

Following the seminal Getting a Job (Granovetter, 1974) a growing body of academic and job counseling literature followed showing how important social capital is for getting a job. One way social capital can help is in improving the qualifications of a job candidate. The relations employees have with other employees, with people in other firms (e.g. buyers, suppliers), with politicians, and with various identity groups in the general population (e.g. subcultures, ethnicities, communities, nations) can all be assets to an employer. However, the primary way in which social capital impacts employment chances is that social relationships are a very common channel liar the flow of information about job opportunities and job candidates, a key part of the process by which prospective employees are matched with job opportunities.

The Importance of Social Networks in Finding Employment

Research has shown that social relationships are fundamental to finding jobs, and to finding better jobs (Granovetter, 1974, 1994; Silliker, 1993; Corcoran, Datcher & Duncan, 1978). Though percentages vary by type of work, from 40% to 70% of persons find their jobs through contact persons in their social network. In studying hiring by a bank Fernandez and Weinberg (1997) found applicants with a referral were more than twice as likely to get an interview and, conditional on getting an interview, over three times as likely to get a job offer, ultimately making them ten times as likely (30% vs. 3% success) to get a job compared with those who had no such link. Recognition of the power of social capital has given rise to a wave of books advising people on how to tap their social networks (e.g. Baker, 2000; Hansel, 2000).