Key Findings: The Impact of the Cash on Attitudes Towards Work

A common concern with unconditional cash transfer programs and policies is the apprehension that they might unintentionally undermine the value American society places on work. Critics of such programs often argue that unconditional cash, provided regardless of employment status, could lead to a cultural shift where work is seen as less essential to individual identity and societal contribution. Our goal at OpenResearch is to learn from participants’ experiences and better understand both the potential benefits and the potential limitations of unconditional cash transfers. One outcome we examined was the impact of unconditional cash on political and social attitudes, including attitudes toward work. To do so, we conducted a randomized controlled trial which gave 1,000 low-income adults in the U.S. $1,000 per month and 2,000 control participants $50 per month for three years.

We find the cash increased recipients’ view of the importance of work for individuals, society, and even as a requirement for accessing government health insurance.

While this may seem surprising given our finding that recipients worked slightly less, these findings are not at odds with one another. Instead, the evidence suggests that people are not working fewer hours on average because they value work less, but because the cash gave them greater agency to make employment choices that better fit their goals and their families' needs. Whereas some have expressed concerns that unconditional cash transfers may reduce the perceived value of work, we find the opposite.

We measured participants’ view of the importance of work with survey questions from the World Values Survey, a large-scale global research project that explores people's values, beliefs, and cultural attitudes. We asked participants the extent to which they agree or disagree with the following statements:

Responses to these questions were averaged into an index to measure the intrinsic value of work. The effect of the cash was a 2% increase in the intrinsic value of work. Relatedly, we also asked participants policy questions to assess their views on economic issues and preferences towards redistribution. Recipients were more likely to support work requirements for Medicaid, a finding that is consistent with the increase in the intrinsic value of work.

How does the cash cause recipients to value work more?

Equally important to understanding whether or not unconditional cash has an impact on people’s attitudes toward work is understanding how the cash has an impact. A strength of mixed-methods research is that the qualitative data enable us to understand the processes that lead to any observed changes in the quantitative data. Thus interviews focused on participants’ subjective views and experiences, such as their perceived levels of stress, their future orientation, and their perception of available opportunities and decision-making power. Interviews with participants suggest a few potential pathways by which receiving the cash may change recipients' attitudes toward work.

One typology of recipients who came to see work as more important for individuals and society were those who were not employed at the start of the transfer and became employed by the end of the transfer period. Interviews with participants revealed three dominant themes inherent in this process. First, recipients emphasized independence and self-reliance as central to their sense of self, and saw acquiring employment as the pathway to achieve these goals. Second, recipients felt the unconditional cash transfer was central in progressing toward this goal. Finally, the fact that they were able to secure employment at the end of the transfer period—many of them in jobs they described as meaningful—affirmed their beliefs about their own work ethic and ability to get ahead through hard work, resulting in stronger sentiments about the importance of work.

Independence and self-reliance as central to their sense of self

Many recipients expressed strong sentiments about independence and self-reliance during their baseline interview. They emphasized that a core aspect of their personal perception was to provide for themselves and their families without needing to rely on others in their social networks, or on government assistance. Recipients felt the inability to do so was a sign of personal failure which was associated with feelings of guilt and frustration. They saw acquiring employment as the pathway to achieve their goals of self-reliance. Notably, many emphasized the importance of feeling that their work is meaningful and a source of fulfillment in their lives.

One recipient, Genevieve, illustrated this when she told us, “Working is better than having to depend on government stuff or, you know, handouts. And it makes you feel better when you have a job versus when you are having to lean on other people, you know what I’m saying? Sometimes it can be a burden too. Even though they might not act like they tripping, but you know, sometimes it might become a bit too much and somebody don't wanna say nothing.”

The cash transfer as central in progressing toward this goal

Many recipients felt the transfer was central in helping them move from unemployment at baseline to employment by the end of the transfer period. For example, recipients reported using the transfer to bridge periods of unemployment, pay for job training or certificate programs that made it possible for them to advance at work, or using the transfer as a safety net to feel more comfortable making employment decisions that could lead to longer-term security but provided less certainty in the short term. Although they viewed the cash transfer as instrumental, recipients expressed that it was because of their own work ethic and individual attributes that they were able to leverage the cash transfer to improve their circumstances.

For example, one recipient, Lisa, told us, “If I didn’t have that money from [the cash transfer] there is no way I could have taken that pay cut, but hearing about the growth opportunities, I was like, I have to give this a shot, but if I didn’t have the [cash transfer] money, there’s no way I would have been able to take this…I think my work ethic is where my opportunities come from…If you don't have work ethic then and you're not out here trying to give it your all in those areas, then you're not gonna be able to grow.”

Distancing themselves from others who would use the transfer “the wrong way”

Recipients sought to distance themselves from people who would use the cash transfer “the wrong way.” They rejected the notion that their ability to improve their circumstances was solely due to assistance, emphasizing instead that their work ethic and self-efficacy enabled them to use the cash transfer effectively—achieving progress that others without similar traits might not have accomplished. For these recipients, the fact that they were able to secure employment at the end of the transfer period—many of them in jobs they described as meaningful—affirmed their beliefs about their own work ethic and ability to get ahead through hard work, making them valorize work even more. This was central to their understanding of why the cash transfer benefited them.

One recipient, Ammon explained, “It's an opportunity for you to better yourself with the money…but I imagine people that are in this program it's no telling what they do with the money that they get. Everybody's not gonna do what I did. I think because I was already doing what I was doing when I got in the program. I was already in school. I was already a single parent full-time school when I got into the program. Right? That's different than somebody that's not doing anything and just sitting at the house all day long, nothing's gonna change. I don't think they'll just enhance their lifestyle the way they're living at that certain time.”

To better illustrate how the cash leads to an increased value of work, consider the experience of Kenzie, a recipient from Illinois.

When she enrolled in the cash transfer program, Kenzie was living in her parents’ house with her husband and their four children. She was not formally employed at the time but was generating income through gig work, such as customizing tennis shoes and painting murals. Kenzie expressed a desire to be formally employed, “I would like to be working, yes, in a certain capacity. I would like to be working in a position that was dignified in work and in pay.” Like many participants, Kenzie conveyed strong sentiments about the importance of being able to independently provide for herself and her family, and feelings of guilt at her inability to do so. She explained, “The way our culture is in America—you should be independent…and so if you view yourself through that lens, you're gonna feel like — sometimes I feel guilty. I feel like I should be making more money. I feel like a little bit of a failure because we're in a bad, you know, we have to rely on each other.”

Kenzie viewed acquiring meaningful employment as the pathway to achieve her desired independence. When asked her goal for her future she responded, “I would like to really find a good place to call my home in terms of my career. That would be a big one…If I had a really fulfilling job that paid me enough to take care of all my loved ones…I am looking for something that would qualify as a career and like a more prestigious job.” When asked how she felt having this job would impact her, she responded, “Because I [would] always feel like I'm good enough. It would allow us to meet sort of like the social expectations that I cherish so dearly.” As Kenzie described, becoming self-reliant, securing employment, and working in a job she found fulfilling and dignified were all intimately tied to her sense of self.

During the transfer period, Kenzie felt she was able to combine the transfer with her work ethic in order to improve her employment situation. She explained, “It was from some of the money that I received through this program in combination with what I was/what I had accumulated from my last job. I took a class, took a professional class on cryptocurrency, and I went and I got education qualifications to get my insurance license which I just took the test for. [The cash transfer] allows me some wiggle room to kind of invest in myself and my own skill sets, to better equip myself for the future and to take care of my family.”

By the end of the transfer period Kenzie was formally employed and, because of her employment and the qualifications she earned with help from the transfer, in a position where she felt she could advance in her career. “I feel like I'm in a really good space/spot to just kind of work hard and move up the ladders,” she said. While she viewed the transfer as critical to improving her circumstances, she made it clear that the reason she benefited from the transfer was because of her personal attributes which set her apart from others who would use the transfer irresponsibly. During the fifth interview, which was conducted at the end of the transfer period, Kenzie stated, “This program has been really key in helping me transform my life. However, if it were — if it was my [ex] husband who got that mailer and returned that mailer, he wouldn't have done anything good with this opportunity. He wouldn't have used it as an opportunity.” She went on to further qualify that the cash transfer would only benefit people who are “working really hard” and not “people who jag it off, are benefiting and not, they're not taking care of their kids and, you know what I mean? And they're not taking care of their aging parents and they're not trying in life.” She contrasts these people with herself. “For me,” she explained, “this program was supplemental so that I could use it to build. I think that's a great thing.”

By distancing herself from others who she believed would use the transfer “the wrong way”, Kenzie and others like her concluded that the reason the transfer helped improve their circumstances was not only because of the financial assistance. Rather it was the combined effect of the assistance with their own work ethic and self efficacy, which they believed many others lacked. In this way, the fact that they were able to secure employment at the end of the transfer period affirmed their beliefs about their ability to get ahead through their own hard work, causing them to value work even more.