Project GLOW presented by John C. Scott at I/O Shaken & Stirred 2017
By having to rely on loans to cover basic needs or unexpected expenses, income becomes negative over time. Low-income earners, in other words, can become poorer because they work. Living wages is a way to break this cycle of poverty. The research is based on Sen’s (1999) proposition that prosperity depends on individuals’ capabilities to achieve the kind of lives they reasonably value. Against this backdrop, employment is valuable if it contributes to fulfilling people’s capabilities (i.e., it provides individuals with freedom to make life choices). Human wellbeing takes centre stage as prosperity is defined as the degree to which individuals perceive choice about various aspects of their life, and not by economic indicators. What makes this research programme novel, thus, is the underlying assumption that, first, it is insufficient to determine wage levels based on economic factors alone, without consideration of psychological variables, and, second, that a wage level allowing for a decent life can be determined using such psychological indicators.
ANIMATION Living Wage | EAWOPii
Additional Information
For additional information on living wages, view the following websites:
To encourage more employers to pay a living wage, the European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology (EAWOP) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) launched an online interactive serious educational game, SuperbMarket. The game draws on science concerning the living wage and decent work by exploring connections between job quality, employee identity, organisational commitment, fairness, and trust. View the YouTube trailer and promotional poster.
Publications
- Carr, S.C., Hodgetts, D., Potgieter, J. & Meyer, I. (2021). Macro-psychology for Decent Work Sustainable Livelihood. In J. McVeigh & M. MacLachlan (Ed.) Macropsychology: A Population Science for Sustainable Development Goals. Springer.
- Carr, S.C., Maleka, M., Meyer, I. et al. (2018). How can wages sustain a living: By getting ahead of the curve. Sustainability Science, 13(1), 901-917. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0560-7
- Carr, S. C., Meyer, I., Saxena, M., Seubert, C., Hopfgarten, L., Arora, B. Jyoti, D., Rugimbana, R., Kempton, H., & Marai, L. (2021). “Our fairtrade coffee tastes better”: Of course it does (will), but when and how. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 56(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12416
- Project GLOW (2021). International Perspectives on Living Wages and Sustainable Livelihood: Lessons from Project GLOW (Global Living Organisational Wage). In W. Leah-Filoh (Ed.). Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Springer.
Conferences and Other Presentations
- Meyer, I. (2022, May 4). Humanistic approach to living wages: Partner Africa Roundtable for Businesses with Agricultural Supply Chains in South Africa [Roundtable presentation]. Cape Town, South Africa.
- Meyer, I. (2021, Jun 15). Living Wages in Africa – Fiction or Reality? [Panel discussion]. 1st Pan African Humanistic Management Event, virtual.
- Meyer, I. (2020, Nov 4-6). Balancing economic survival of organisations with employees’ dignity and sustainable livelihoods during the COVID-19 crisis [Symposium "South African companies’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: What should we maintain, improve or abandon" presentation]. Humanistic Management Network Conference, virtual.
- Meyer, I. (2019, June 2-5). Who is afraid of living wages: Flipping fear from a barrier into an enabler of living wages [Small group meeting]. European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology Small Group Meeting, University of Glasgow, Scotland.
- Gaya, L., Meyer, I. & Maleka, M. (2018, August). National income dynamics and sustainable livelihoods in South Africa [Symposium “Healthy organisations transforming lives through sustainable livelihoods" presentation]. International Conference: Healthier Societies Fostering Healthy Organizations: A Cross-cultural Perspective. University of Florence, Italy.
- Meyer, I., Maleka, M. & Carr, S.C. (2018, August). Living wages: What we know so far [Symposium and paper presentation]. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference, Montreal, Canada.
- Meyer, I., Schaffer, T., Fortuin, T., Mfeketho, Y. & Botha, G. (2017, Sep). Psychological consequences of low income work: Implications for Sustainable Development Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth for all) in South Africa [Symposium presentation]. Pan African Psychology Union Congress, Durban, South Africa.
- Maleka, M., Meyer, I., & Raath, C. (2017, December). The Importance of the Living Wage [Presentation]. Science Forum South Africa, Department of Science and Technology, Pretoria. South Africa.
- Carr, S., Maleka, M., Meyer, I., Parker, J., Arrowsmith, J., Haar, J., Jones, H., Groothof, D.,Barry, M.-L., Yao, C., & Eastgate, L. (2016, July). Living Wages, Sustainable Livelihood and Poverty Eradication [Paper presentation]. International Congress of Psychology, Yokohama, Japan.
- Maleka, M., Dachapalli, L.-A., Carr, S., Meyer, I., Raath, C., Ragadu, S. Schulz, C. (2016, December). Social sciences informing the debate on a living and minimum national wage [Panel discussion]. Science Forum South Africa, Department of Science and Technology. Pretoria, South Africa.
Students
Master's
- Botha, M. (2021). Shifting from survival to decent living: Evaluating individuals' capabilities to live the life they value in relation to their income.
- Elliot, A. (2021). Money and sustainability: Examining the potential moderating role of financial capability and decent work on the relationship between income and quality of life.
- Gaya, L. (2021). Money does not buy happiness… Or does it? An investigation of the relationship between individual income and life satisfaction in the National Income Dynamics Study.
- Mfeketho, Y. (2021). The role of socioeconomic status in the relationship between pay, job and life satisfaction among South African graduates.
- Weaver, M. (2021). The Role of Socioeconomic Status on Students’ Employment Expectations in South Africa.
- Soeker, N. (2020). Interviewer effects in quantitative surveys using a door-to-door approach.
- Vollenhoven, T. (2020). Domestic Work as Decent Work: An Empirical Test of the Predictors of Decent Work To Extend the Psychology of Working Theory.
- Malan, D. (2019). From Decent Work to Decent Lives: An Empirical Test of the Outcomes of Decent Work in the Psychology of Working Theory.
- Mbolela, A. Y. (2019). The relationship between organisational justice perceptions, organisational trust and willingness to engage in protest action for higher wages among low income employees in South Africa.
PhD
- Oghenetega, T. (ongoing) Living wages in South Africa: Self-perceived quality of life as a determinant of living wages and an exploration of employer values systems.
Living Wage South Africa Network
As a NPO, the Living Wage South Africa Network's main objectives are to:
- Initiate and disseminate living wage research, including determining a living wage benchmark range for South Africa,
- Avail resources to stakeholders and employers interested in working towards implementing living wages, and
- Create awareness about and advocate for living wages in South Africa.
The organisation's secondary objectives are to:
- Compile case studies of leading living wage employers, and
- Network with organisations working on living wages in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
If you'd like additional information or to become a member, please email livingwagesa@uct.ac.za.
Latest Projects
- We've distributed a position paper in October 2022. See the latest news for media coverage.
- We're conducting a study to determine a national living wage for South Africa. Data collection is currently in progress.
