Socioeconomic background affects our appetite to take interpersonal risks at work.

Edited 2025: See our updated research on how socioeconomic background affects interpersonal risk taking and opportunities in the workplace.

Research by KPMG shows that people from working class families took an average 19% longer to move up a grade in their roles, or as much as up to a year, compared to those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. A number of factors come into play here, including the family and work networks that enable people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds to find, and land, career opportunities that aren’t as easy to come by for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Some of the largest effects however come from two aspects:

• Cultural language and norms. The unwritten societal rules of engagement that those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds can navigate with ease in the world of work, can feel like closed doors to those without that tacit knowledge endowed by “better” schools, red brick universities, and parents with professional careers.
• Risk aversion and the lack of a safety net. Early in our careers, those of use with a wealth or parental safety net to fall back on can take greater risks, be bolder in our requests for promotions or ambitious projects with less fear of the consequences of failure. It means those without that safety net are naturally more cautious, less likely to challenge decisions that affect their career progression, and less likely to take high risk & high reward roles. 

Essentially, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to take interpersonal risks at work, particularly early in their career.

Thanks to Lisa Riemers for the heads up on this piece.