Getting what we deserve? Attitudes to pay, reward and desert

Article

This report investigates the role of pay as reward or recognition for different kinds of work, skills and outcomes. Drawing on polling and extensive qualitative research, it considers how the functioning of pay is currently perceived and what the appropriate foundations for improvement might be.

Widespread outrage about bankers' bonuses and excessive executive pay has fuelled a deep sense of injustice about apparent 'rewards for failure'. At the same time, many millions of people across the UK do not appear to get their fair share of the pay bill despite working hard and doing their job well.

The research findings presented in this report demonstrate a sense of injustice among many people about the way pay currently functions, even among some very high earners. The key source of concern hinges on the extent to which pay at all levels is a fair reward for the contribution made to an organisation's success, with an emphasis on responsibility, performance, skill and effort as the essential elements of that contribution. The research presented here demonstrates a sense that the contribution of high earners is often overplayed while the contribution of the average worker is undervalued.

Download full results of the YouGov poll which is used extensively in this report.

Related items

  1. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Restoring security: Understanding the effects of removing the two-child limit across the UK

    The government’s decision to lift the two-child limit marks one of the most significant changes to the social security system in a decade.
  2. A group of healthcare professionals sitting in a staff common room in a hospital in Newcastle

    Building a healthier, wealthier Britain: Launching the IPPR Centre for Health and Prosperity

    Following the success of our Commission on Health and Prosperity, IPPR is excited to launch the Centre for Health and Prosperity.
  3. The Home Office building in London

    A ‘paradigm shift’ in asylum and immigration policy?

    In 2019, a package of asylum reforms known as the ‘paradigm shift’ was passed by a broad party consensus in the Danish parliament.