[Rails] user roles recommendation

I'm in a dilemma. I have a users table. Each user has a role: admin,
manager, agent, customer.

What do you recommend about the users table? Options:
1) in the users table, add a role column, type string, and enter the
role as a string.
2) in the users table, add a role_id column (integer, foreign key) that
connects to a roles table.

I know both ways would work, but I would like to know if one approach is
better than the other and why. What has been your experience?

--basic question from a newbie

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