Status
In Adult age, status becomes very important and even more important in wellness. At this stage the man or woman wishes to be looked up to by youth for advice and asked by the aged for help. Rules and procedures in the organization make status differences quite visible by making it clear who gives the orders and wields influence. Allied with status is self-esteem. Whether one will attempt to persuade others depends in part on his estimate of his own competence. The higher one's status, the more control he or she has over what happens on the job. More status means more opportunity to participate in decisions.
Studies show a general tendency to overestimate one's own job and to underestimate the job of others. This often brings about confusion. The waitress may see herself as having more status than the short-order cook when she tells him what orders to fill. Not only does he resent taking orders from a female whom he regards as having lower status than his own, but he sees himself not as a cook but as a chef.
Status confusion also arises because a person with high status in one situation may be low in the pecking order somewhere else. Th superintendent of a small-town branch office who is "Mr. Big" may find himself virtually without status when rotated to a staff head· quarters position. The bookkeeper in the small operation mny los status when advanced to the position of one of many compute programmers, even though the latter job pays better.
People react differently to status symbols. One person who gets job title change without additional authority, responsibility, and compensation may feel no status enhancement whatsoever. In fact he may resent being so treated. Another person may prefer a title change which makes his job sound more important; he may even wish not to have additional authority and responsibility.
