title: Investigating the effect of the London living wage on the psychological wellbeing of low-wage service sector employees: a feasibility study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Working poverty has become a major public health concern in recent times, and low-paid, insecure employment has been widely linked to poor psychological wellbeing. The London Living Wage (LLW) campaign aims to ensure employees receive adequate pay. The objective of this study is to investigate whether working for a LLW employer predicted higher levels of psychological wellbeing among low-wage service sector employees.
  
  
  METHODS
  Workplace interviews were conducted with 300 service sector employees in London; 173 of whom were in LLW workplaces. Positive psychological wellbeing was measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess whether working for a LLW employer was associated with greater psychological wellbeing, adjusting for hypothesised confounding and mediating factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjustment, respondents working for LLW employers had wellbeing scores 3.9 units higher on average than those who did not (95% CI: 1.8, 6.0). These empirical results are complemented by methodological findings regarding the difficulties associated with accessing the study group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Those who worked for a LLW employer had significantly higher psychological wellbeing on average than those who did not. This was shown to be irrespective of any differences in the socioeconomic or demographic composition of these two groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flint
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cummins
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wills
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008131:London; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: mental health; work environment