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TL;DR
A preprint based on a 2026 survey of 8,234 adults in the UK, US, Denmark and India finds that most respondents would leave work for guaranteed income below their current salary, but about one in five would stay even at 120%. The study suggests work can provide purpose, community and recognition as well as pay, but it is not peer-reviewed and its findings describe survey responses, not observed behavior or AI’s actual employment effects.
A new survey of 8,234 working-age adults finds that most respondents would leave their jobs for guaranteed income below their current salary, while about one in five would stay even at 120% of pay. The findings, published in an unreviewed preprint by Julian Jacobs of the University of Oxford and Google DeepMind, add evidence to the debate over whether income alone could replace what people get from work as AI changes employment.
The paper, titled “What is Work For? Labor, Politics, and Meaning in the Age of AI,” was posted to arXiv on October 29. Its survey was conducted online in June and July by More in Common, with respondents in the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark and India. The paper says the survey was supported by Google DeepMind, Jacobs’s employer, and that its views do not necessarily represent the organizations’ positions.
In the survey’s hypothetical test, participants were asked whether they would voluntarily quit if they received a guaranteed income while keeping health coverage, pension and paid leave. The offer rose in steps from 60% to 120% of current salary. A slight majority said they would leave at 80% of pay; around three in four would do so at 100%. About 20% said they would not leave even at 120%. These are stated responses to a scenario, not evidence of how people would act if offered such a deal.
The researchers also grouped respondents by what they said mattered most in a job. Among those the paper could classify, 33% were primarily motivated by the work itself, including purpose, learning or contribution; 23% by colleagues and belonging; 17% by status and recognition; and 26% by pay and benefits. The paper reports that 73.7% put a nonfinancial reason first. The share primarily motivated by the work itself was similar across household-income groups, at 32% to 34%.
WHAT WORK IS FOR, ACCORDING TO WORKERS
Three in four put something other than pay first
The paper sorts workers by what they rate most important in their job. In its own figure, 73.7% of classified workers put a non-money reason first.
The work itself: purpose, learning, contributing to society.
Pay and benefits come first.
Belonging, colleagues, meeting people.
Recognition and prestige.
Pay-first share, by country
Share of classified workers whose top value is pay and benefits
Meaning is not a luxury
Share driven by the work itself (intrinsic), by household income third
Also about a third in craft and trade jobs (33%) and in services and sales (31%).
Shares of the 6,224 working respondents the paper could classify; 2,010 respondents (non-working, or no clear top value) were left out. 2,000 tied answers were assigned by a tie-break rule. Satisfied with their job: 81%.
Source: Jacobs, What is Work For?, arXiv:2610.39375v1, 29 Oct 2026 · preprint, not peer-reviewed · survey of 8,234 working-age adults in the UK, US, Denmark and India by More in Common, June–July 2026, supported by Google DeepMind.
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What Workers May Lose Beyond Pay
The findings speak to a practical question facing employers and policymakers: if AI reduces demand for some kinds of labor, could income support make up for the loss? The survey suggests that for many people, a job is not only a source of wages. It can also offer routine, social connection, recognition and a sense of contribution. Cash support may address lost earnings without necessarily replacing those parts of working life.
That distinction matters for debates over proposals such as basic income and for decisions about how workplaces adapt to automation. Jacobs argues that income support “may indeed be necessary” in an AI-related labor shock, but could fail to compensate for everything people gain from work. That is the author’s interpretation of the survey, not a tested finding about the effects of a basic-income program.
The paper also finds that respondents motivated by purpose or community asked for somewhat more guaranteed income to quit than respondents primarily motivated by pay. After statistical controls, the reported differences were about 1.9 to 5.8 percentage points, depending on the method. The source equates that range to roughly $1,100 to $3,500 a year for someone earning $60,000. Those estimates are modest and come from the paper’s models; they do not establish how workers would respond to real-world job loss.
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How the Survey Tested Work Values
The study uses a nine-item set of questions about job priorities, including pay, benefits, purpose, learning, social contribution, belonging, meeting people and status. It combines those answers into four “Work Values Profiles,” then compares the profiles with responses to the guaranteed-income question and with views about AI and politics. The paper’s statistical models account for factors including income, occupation, age, gender, education, part-time work and country.
The survey also asked about perceived AI risk. According to the source’s account of the paper, 40% of white-collar respondents thought AI was at least somewhat likely to replace their job within 10 years, compared with 29% of manual and service workers. That is a measure of respondents’ expectations, not a forecast of job losses or a measure of AI’s actual effects.
The paper is a 39-page, single-author preprint, submitted to arXiv in General Economics. It had not been peer-reviewed as of the source report, and the author notes that later versions could change. Its cross-sectional survey can show associations among answers at one point in time, but cannot establish that a particular motivation causes a political view or employment outcome.
““may indeed be necessary””
— Julian Jacobs, author of the preprint
Limits of the Evidence
The preprint has not been peer-reviewed, and the survey’s hypothetical quit question cannot show what respondents would do when facing an actual offer or job displacement. It is also not clear from the survey whether the same answers would hold over time or in other countries and labor markets.
The country samples were set using quotas for age, gender, education and region, but the source notes that the Indian online sample was younger, more urban and more educated than India’s population overall. Cross-country comparisons therefore need care. The reported political associations are also limited: the source says groups did not differ significantly in populist vote intention, and the paper itself says its analysis is not causal.
Most importantly, the research does not establish how many jobs AI will replace, which workers will be affected, or whether cash payments could compensate for lost purpose, social ties or status. Those questions remain open; the survey records perceptions and stated preferences rather than future outcomes.
Peer Review and Further Evidence
The paper’s next milestone is further scrutiny and any revised version the author may post. As a preprint, its estimates and conclusions could change through review or additional analysis. Readers should distinguish the current results from established evidence and from predictions about AI-driven job losses.
For policymakers and employers, the findings point to questions that require evidence beyond this survey: how displaced workers value income against community and purpose, whether new forms of work can preserve those benefits, and how support programs perform in practice. The survey does not settle those questions. It provides a snapshot of what respondents said in 2026, while the employment effects of AI and possible responses continue to develop.
Key Questions
What did the survey find about guaranteed income?
Most respondents said they would leave work for guaranteed income below their current salary. Around one in five said they would stay at 120% of pay, with health coverage, pension and paid leave retained in the hypothetical offer.
Does the study show that AI will replace workers’ jobs?
No. It reports workers’ perceptions of risk: 40% of white-collar respondents and 29% of manual and service workers said AI was at least somewhat likely to replace their job within 10 years. The survey does not measure actual job replacement or forecast future losses.
What reasons for working did respondents name?
The paper grouped respondents around four main motivations: the work itself, colleagues and belonging, status and recognition, and pay and benefits. Among classifiable respondents, 33% put the work itself first and 26% put pay and benefits first.
How conclusive is the research?
The paper is an unreviewed arXiv preprint based on an online survey. Its findings describe stated answers and associations; they do not prove how people would behave in real employment decisions or establish cause and effect.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
