Investigating the effect of the London living wage on the psychological wellbeing of low-wage service sector employees: a feasibility study

Flint, Ellen; Cummins, Steven; Wills, Jane

doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdt093

Cited by 16 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…Whilst employee responses to the LW have been studied elsewhere (e.g. Linneker and Wills, 2016;Flint et al, 2014) it would be desirable in the future to ascertain employees' views in case studies such as ours, including the views of middle managers (where applicable).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new living contract: cases in the implementation of the Living Wage by British SME retailers

Werner

Lim

2017

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence for the motivations of SMEs for introducing the Living Wage (LW), focussing on retail as one specific sector. It develops understanding of the strategic benefits and challenges these employers face in balancing financial, ethical and social considerations in small businesses. Design/methodology/approach The study employed mixed methods: a survey and semi-structured interviews. The interviews are presented as part of three case studies. Findings Findings indicate that employers were, for the most part, motivated by personal ethics and beliefs about fair wages and social justice. They suggest that SME accrue benefits from LW accreditation such as reputational benefits and higher employee morale, but that there are also potential pitfalls of LW adoption related to pay structure and incentives. The sustainability of the LW emerged as an issue in terms of the long-term strategy and brand positioning of the companies involved. Research limitations/implications The nature of the research was exploratory and thus the study only allows for limited generalisation. Recommended avenues for further research include gathering data from different levels of organisations and from different stakeholders. Originality/value This is the first paper to investigate the drivers for, and implementation of, the LW in SMEs. The specific characteristics of SMEs – their ethos, low visibility, reliance on trusting relationships and limited resources, among others – make the study of why and how they choose to implement the LW very interesting. This study is the first to gather and analyse data from SME retailers and wholesalers that have implemented the LW.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new living contract: cases in the implementation of the Living Wage by British SME retailers

Werner

Lim

2017

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“…More recent research has focused on the affordability to employers of the living wage and finds wage cost rises for inhouse staff in different industrial sectors of between 1 to 6%, with the higher costs in the retail, food and hospitality sectors which employ larger numbers of low paid workers (Pennycook, 2012). In addition, higher psychological wellbeing has been found in LLW workplaces (Flint et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Potential Impacts Of Wage Rate Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The London living wage and in-work poverty reduction: Impacts on employers and workers

Linneker

Wills

2016

Environ Plann C Gov Policy

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In the UK, a campaign for the living wage has emerged as a civil society initiative to reduce in-work poverty. This article reports empirical evidence from a study of employers adopting the London Living Wage and the benefits from this intervention, as reported by their workers. Implementation strategies to cover higher wage costs varied, from clients meeting full costs, to reduced employer profit, to reductions in hours and employment. There were strong substitution effects from low to higher qualified workers. The evidence suggests that while there were worker benefits from the living wage, they were not automatic, as higher wage rates did not necessarily translate into higher incomes due to variations in hours of work. Workers reported more in-work benefits, than family or financial benefits. In-work poverty reduction was limited by large concentrations of part-time living wage jobs with few hours, small income increases and the rising costs of living.

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“…Increasing public attention has led scholars to begin examining the relationship between living wages and personal and economic outcomes. For example, recent research has examined the effects of living wage on poverty reduction (Neumark & Adams, 2003a, 2003b, economic development (Freeman, 2005;Luce, 2004), social welfare policy (Chandler, 2009), employment (Adams & Neumark, 2005a, 2005bFairris & Reich, 2005), workers' physical and mental health (Bhatia & Katz, 2001;Cole et al, 2005;Flint, Cummins, & Wills, 2014;Glickman, 1999), and social justice (Martin, 2001;Stiglitz, 2002). Despite this surge of interest, most studies pay little or no attention to the effects of living wages on work performance.…”

Section: Résumémentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of living wage effects on employees' performance‐related attitudes and behaviour

Zeng

Honig

2016

Can J Adm Sci

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Despite the surge of interest in living wage research, most studies pay little attention to the effect of living wages on employee attitudes and behaviour. We examine the differences between living wage and minimum wage workers on three attitudinal and behavioural outcomes: affective commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and turnover intention. We also examine the effects of training and benefits on the three outcomes. Results show that living wage workers have higher affective commitment and lower turnover intention. Training and benefits also improve workers' attitudinal and behavioural outcomes variously. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords: minimum wage, living wage, affective commitment, OCB, turnover intention Résumé En dépit du regain d'intérêt dans la recherche sur les salaires de subsistance, la plupart des études accordent peu d'attention à l'impact de ces salaires sur les attitudes et les comportements des employés. Dans cet article, nous examinons les différences entre les employés qui gagnent des salaires de subsistance et ceux qui gagnent des salaires minimaux, en nous basant sur trois facteurs attitudinaux et comportementaux à savoir : l'engagement affectif, le comportement citoyen organisationnel (OCB) et l'intention de renouvellement. Nous examinons également les effets de la formation et des avantages sur ses trois facteurs. Les résultats indiquent que les employés qui gagnent des salaires de subsistance ont un engagement affectif plus élevé et une intention de renouvellement plus faible. Par ailleurs, la formation et les avantages améliorent diversement les facteurs attitudinaux et comportementaux des employés.

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Investigating the effect of the London living wage on the psychological wellbeing of low-wage service sector employees: a feasibility study

Abstract: Those who worked for a LLW employer had significantly higher psychological wellbeing on average than those who did not. This was shown to be irrespective of any differences in the socioeconomic or demographic composition of these two groups.

Cited by 16 publications

References 6 publications

A new living contract: cases in the implementation of the Living Wage by British SME retailers

A new living contract: cases in the implementation of the Living Wage by British SME retailers

The London living wage and in-work poverty reduction: Impacts on employers and workers

A study of living wage effects on employees' performance‐related attitudes and behaviour

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