Job satisfaction and career adaptability through the lenses of Bourdieu’s theory of practice and theory of elites: a comparison of Hispanic and non-Hispanic communication professionals

Purpose This study examines the social and cultural capital of mass communication practitioners using Bourdieu’s theory of practice and the theory of elites. It focuses specifically on US Hispanic and non-Hispanic practitioners to understand their experiences in the workplace and social and cultural capital as it relates to job satisfaction and career adaptability. Design/methodology/approach A total of 349 respondents completed a survey online through the Connect platform. 39.3% reported being of Hispanic origin. Measures included acculturation, familism, career adaptability, human capital (including job rank), social capital (including social networks and social trust), cultural capital (current and when growing up) and job satisfaction. Independent samples t -tests, chi-squares and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Findings T -tests revealed significant differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic practitioners in acculturation, career adaptability, social network, offline cultural capital, online cultural capital and cultural capital growing up. Multiple regression analysis revealed different predictors of job satisfaction for Hispanic and non-Hispanic respondents. For Hispanic respondents, familism and social trust positively predicted job satisfaction, while for non-Hispanic respondents, significant predictors for job satisfaction included career adaptability, offline cultural capital and social trust. For White practitioners, multiple regression showed that job satisfaction is predicted by career adaptability and social trust. Practical implications Results signal that personal background and the ability of practitioners to fit into existing organizational structures often play a pivotal role in their work satisfaction. Acculturation and social and cultural capital are relevant concepts that affect practitioners. Therefore, the study sheds light on how people are affected by their background and capital, which can increase understanding among practitioners and help organizations craft better inclusivity and recruitment policies. Originality/value To the best of author's knowledge, this work represents the first study on American mass communication practitioners using Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and theory of elites, which also focuses on studying social and cultural capital, job satisfaction and career adaptability.