Perceptions of unjust pay represent a central feature in research on distributive justice. Prior studies document that work-life conflict (WLC) is a strong predictor of unjustly low pay. We extend that work by asking: Did the social and economic changes associated with the coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) modify the relationship between WLC and perceptions of unjust pay? In September 2019, we collected data from a nationally representative sample of workers to profile the quality of work and economic life. Then, during a critical period of widespread economic and social shockwaves, we re-interviewed these same study participants in May 2020 to evaluate change. We observe that the strong positive association between WLC and unjustly low pay decreased overall in the population—but the strength and direction of that association differed significantly across several dimensions of social stratification. Specifically, we found a weaker relationship among visible minorities, younger workers, and individuals with lower socioeconomic status. We interpret these patterns as suggesting that—at least among more vulnerable groups—the “greed” represented in the process of work interfering with non-work was unevenly experienced during peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

对不公正薪酬的看法代表了分配正义研究的中心特征。先前的研究表明，工作与生活的冲突（WLC）是不合理的低薪的有力预测指标。我们通过询问以下问题来扩展这项工作：与2019年冠状病毒大流行（COVID-19）相关的社会和经济变化是否改变了WLC与不公正薪酬观念之间的关系？在2019年9月，我们从全国有代表性的工人样本中收集了数据，以描述工作质量和经济生活。然后，在广泛的经济和社会冲击波的关键时期，我们于2020年5月对这些研究参与者进行了重新访谈，以评估变化。我们观察到，WLC与不合理的低薪之间的强烈正向关联总体上降低了人口，但是这种关联的强度和方向在社会分层的多个维度上都存在显着差异。具体而言，我们发现可见的少数民族，年轻工人和社会经济地位较低的人之间的关系较弱。我们认为这些模式表明，至少在较弱势群体中，工作干扰非工作的过程中表现出的“贪婪”在COVID-19大流行高峰期间经历了不均匀。