It’s widely recognized that our network is hugely important in terms of our professional success.  Traditionally, this narrative suggests that we need friends in the right places to help us get a leg up in our careers, with those friends often in high places.  New research by Vanderbilt University explores how the theories of social cost and social capital help us in life.

“One of the oldest ideas is that it’s not what you know, but who you know,” the researchers say. “Knowing people in high and diverse positions should be a good thing and increase an individual’s life satisfaction if we go along with social capital theory.”

A social cost

The researchers focus on social cost theory, which suggests that there are also downsides to some social connections.  For instance, they might encourage negative comparisons or we might invest significant time into relationships that don’t benefit us.

The paper highlights that the status of those people we know can be both beneficial and harmful to our health and wellbeing and overall life satisfaction.

This was especially so in Asian societies, with social capital theory more prominent in individualist societies, such as the United States.  In both cultures, accessed status was linked to both financial health and the relationships people have with their neighbors.

“Theoretically speaking, social cost theory pertains most to the financial domain and social capital theory pertains most to the domains of relationship with neighbors and marital life,” the researchers say.

The results came from a survey conducted across the United States, Taiwan, and China which examined the satisfaction people felt across six domains: relationship with boss and colleagues (for the employed); relationship with neighbors; martial life (for married or cohabitating respondents); and relationship with children (for those with children).