ABSTRACT

Traditional living wage research has been the purview of economists, but recently contributions from the field of work psychology have challenged existing perspectives, providing a different lens through which to consider this issue. By means of a narrative interdisciplinary review of 115 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2020, we chart the transitions in the field with attention shifting from macro-economic and econometric lens largely concerned with the costs of living wage policies, to a more person-centric lens focusing on the employee and their family. Synthesizing prior study, we outline five key themes: consequences for individuals, organizations, and societies; changes in operationalization; exploration of different contexts; study of social movements; and the history of the topic. We outline the importance of work psychology in developing the living wage debate through more inclusive definitions, and novel operationalization and measurement, thereby providing fresh insights into how and why living wages can have a positive impact. Critically, we outline the redundancy of simple study of wage rates without understanding the elements that make work decent. We raise key areas for further study, and this topic presents a significant opportunity for psychology to shift focus to impact upstream policy by providing new empirical evidence, and challenges to structural inequalities.

摘要

传统的生活工资研究一直是经济学家的职权范围，但最近工作心理学领域的贡献挑战了现有的观点，提供了一个不同的视角来考虑这个问题。通过对 2000 年至 2020 年间发表的 115 篇同行评审期刊文章的叙述性跨学科评论，我们描绘了该领域的转变，关注点从主要关注生活工资政策成本的宏观经济和计量经济学视角转移到更多以人为本的镜头聚焦于员工及其家人。综合先前的研究，我们概述了五个关键主题：对个人、组织和社会的后果；操作化的变化；探索不同的背景；社会运动研究；以及主题的历史。我们通过更具包容性的定义、新颖的操作和衡量方法概述​​了工作心理学在发展生活工资辩论中的重要性，从而为生活工资如何以及为什么会产生积极影响提供了新的见解。至关重要的是，我们概述了在不了解使工作体面的要素的情况下对工资率进行简单研究的冗余。我们提出了进一步研究的关键领域，这个主题为心理学提供了一个重要的机会，通过提供新的经验证据和对结构性不平等的挑战，将注意力转移到影响上游政策上。我们概述了在不了解使工作体面的要素的情况下对工资率进行简单研究的冗余。我们提出了进一步研究的关键领域，这个主题为心理学提供了一个重要的机会，通过提供新的经验证据和对结构性不平等的挑战，将注意力转移到影响上游政策上。我们概述了在不了解使工作体面的要素的情况下对工资率进行简单研究的冗余。我们提出了进一步研究的关键领域，这个主题为心理学提供了一个重要的机会，通过提供新的经验证据和对结构性不平等的挑战，将注意力转移到影响上游政策上。