Fear of falling What does the worry about the collapse of the classes do to the middle class? By Blood Pekravan/Editorial Secretary In November 2014, the Guardian published a report on a shift in the direction of social mobility in the UK that could do more than make it harder for a generation of young people to climb. They feared the possibility of falling from the position their parents had reached. A study from the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics showed that with the reduction of work opportunities in managerial and professional positions, a generation entered the labor market whose chances of social advancement are no higher than their parents' generation and even lower. The concern about this situation, especially among middle-class families, was expressed in the form of anxiety for the children's future and their education. It seems that the story these days goes beyond the number of households that are actually included in the lower strata. Now we have to worry about how many households are forced to adjust their behavior based on "probability of collapse" due to uncertainty about the future. Income may not have decreased, but the ability to save has decreased. The position may be kept, but the chance of career advancement is gone, or the family may still be able to pay for the child's education, but is no longer sure that this investment will improve his financial situation in the future. Therefore, a family may still be in the same income bracket as before, but in order to maintain its previous status, it may have to make choices that were not necessary a few years ago. The latest evidence of this trend can be seen in the article "The prospect of downward mobility causes anxiety and dissatisfaction with life". In four studies, researchers looked at 2,819 people in high-income, post-industrial economies. The result in all four studies had almost the same direction: imagining the possibility of a social fall increases the anxiety of dignity and this anxiety leads to a decrease in satisfaction and well-being with life. On the contrary, the effect of the perception of social ascension on well-being was much more unstable and only in one of the experimental studies was a significant positive effect on life satisfaction seen.

Fear of falling What does the worry about the collapse of the classes do to the middle class? By Blood Pekravan/Editorial Secretary In November 2014, the Guardian published a report on a shift in the direction of social mobility in the UK that could do more than make it harder for a generation of young people to climb. They feared the possibility of falling from the position their parents had reached. A study from the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics showed that with the reduction of work opportunities in managerial and professional positions, a generation entered the labor market whose chances of social advancement are no higher than their parents' generation and even lower. The concern about this situation, especially among middle-class families, was expressed in the form of anxiety for the children's future and their education. It seems that the story these days goes beyond the number of households that are actually included in the lower strata. Now we have to worry about how many households are forced to adjust their behavior based on "probability of collapse" due to uncertainty about the future. Income may not have decreased, but the ability to save has decreased. The position may be kept, but the chance of career advancement is gone, or the family may still be able to pay for the child's education, but is no longer sure that this investment will improve his financial situation in the future. Therefore, a family may still be in the same income bracket as before, but in order to maintain its previous status, it may have to make choices that were not necessary a few years ago. The latest evidence of this trend can be seen in the article "The prospect of downward mobility causes anxiety and dissatisfaction with life". In four studies, researchers looked at 2,819 people in high-income, post-industrial economies. The result in all four studies had almost the same direction: imagining the possibility of a social fall increases the anxiety of dignity and this anxiety leads to a decrease in satisfaction and well-being with life. On the contrary, the effect of the perception of social ascension on well-being was much more unstable and only in one of the experimental studies was a significant positive effect on life satisfaction seen.