Workers who report more precariousness and instability in their income are more likely to experience insomnia, headaches, and stomach issues, according to research from a business school.
The study, conducted by Professor Gordon Sayre, professor of organisational behavior at Emlyon Business School in Lyon, France, investigated the effect pay volatility has on the health of gig workers and those who rely on tips.
Professor Sayre ran three separate studies, surveying 375 gig workers across three weeks, 85 tipped workers each day for two weeks, and 252 higher-paid workers in sales, finance, and marketing across two months.
His findings revealed that workers who had more volatile pay reported experiencing more health symptoms, such as headaches, backaches, and stomach problems.
This was because workers with an unstable income were more concerned about making ends meet and were preoccupied with thoughts about their personal finances.
A lack of financial security for an employee could clearly have a negative effect on their physical health, the study argued.
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“Dealing with an unstable income means never knowing how much money you’ll make in a given week or month and that insecurity makes it difficult to cope with ordinary expenses,” said Professor Sayre.
The research also revealed that workers who rely on tips, such as restaurant servers, hairdressers, and bar staff, do not feel physically better on days where they earned more money.
One thing gig and tipped workers have in common is they often have a lower-than-average income, raising the question of whether the harmful effects were simply because of low pay, instead of unstable income per se.
However, the results of a third study on workers in sales, finance, and marketing, where commissions and bonuses are common, revealed that, while the effects were not as strong, they still experienced health issues.
Professor Sayre has recommended that companies carefully consider whether the perceived benefits of performance-based pay policies that generate instability outweigh the costs to workers’ health.
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Instead, he argued companies should look to strike a balance by reducing workers’ reliance on volatile forms of pay, offering more substantial base pay instead.
The paper was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
