Working to Live: The relationship between the Living Wage, quality of life and job satisfaction

Our poll of 2,000 UK adults finds clear differences in quality of life, experiences at work, and retention, recruitment and motivation at work for those paid at the Living Wage compared to those paid below the Living Wage.  

The majority of low-paid workers (81 per cent) think that moving to a Living Wage would have a positive impact on their quality of life. The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate calculated based on what it costs to live. At the time of publication, this is £12.60, or £13.85 for those in London. 

People paid the Living Wage are also more likely than low-paid workers to say their job has a positive impact on their physical health (40 per cent vs 24 per cent) and mental health (36 per cent vs 22 per cent). This pattern holds for people with existing long-term health conditions.  

Those paid the Living Wage are more likely to be satisfied – and less likely to be dissatisfied – with every aspect of a job we asked about. The aspects with the biggest difference in satisfaction rates are level of pay, career advancement opportunities, employer pension contributions and employee benefits.  

People paid the Living Wage are also more likely to associate positive emotions with their jobs. Over three quarters of those paid the Living Wage had felt enthusiastic at least sometimes due to their job over the past few weeks, compared to 68 per cent of low-paid employees.  

Overall, three quarters of workers paid the Living Wage are satisfied with their current job, dropping to 61 per cent for low-paid workers. A quarter of workers (25 per cent) paid the Living Wage plan to stay in their current job for less than a year, compared to 29 per cent paid less than the Living Wage. 

Being offered the Living Wage is a clear draw for low-paid workers considering other options. If their current employer decided to pay the Living Wage, 65 per cent say they would be more likely to stay. If a similar job came up at another employer which paid the Living Wage, three quarters said this pay offer would make them more likely to take the job. 

These findings suggest a clear difference between the experiences of low-paid workers and those paid a Living Wage, and the potential for positive impact on both workers and employers by raising wages.