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TL;DR
A June–July 2026 survey of 8,234 working-age adults in the UK, US, Denmark and India asked how much guaranteed income would persuade them to quit their jobs. Most respondents said they would leave at or below their current pay, while about one in five would stay even with a guarantee worth 120% of salary. The findings come from a preprint, not a peer-reviewed study, and measure stated choices rather than observed behavior.
A survey of 8,234 working-age adults in the UK, United States, Denmark and India found that most would leave their jobs for guaranteed income at or below their current salary, while about one in five would stay at 120%. The results, published in an October 29 arXiv preprint by Julian Jacobs of the University of Oxford and Google DeepMind, examine what workers value beyond pay as artificial intelligence raises questions about the future of employment.
The survey asked respondents to imagine receiving guaranteed income in steps from 60% to 120% of their current salary, while keeping healthcare, pension and paid leave. By 80% of salary, a slight majority said they would quit. At 100%, about three in four said they would leave; at 120%, roughly 20% still said they would stay. Among those willing to quit, the median threshold was 70% of salary and the average was 76%, according to the paper.
Jacobs grouped respondents by the reasons 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’s figure reports that 73.7% put a non-financial reason first. The motivation tied to the work itself was similar across household-income categories, at 32% for lower-income, 33% for middle-income and 34% for higher-income respondents.
The paper also reports that 40% of white-collar workers considered it at least somewhat likely that AI would replace their job within ten years, compared with 29% of manual and service workers. These are respondents’ expectations, not a forecast of actual job losses. The study’s models account for factors including income, occupation, age, gender, education, part-time work and country, but the survey is cross-sectional and cannot establish cause and effect.
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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The results speak to debates about whether cash transfers, including a basic income, could offset disruption if AI reduces demand for human labor. Jacobs argues that a basic income “may indeed be necessary” in an AI-related labor shock, but might not compensate for the purpose, relationships or recognition people receive through work. That is an interpretation of survey responses, not a measured outcome of a basic-income program.
The pattern also suggests that workers’ motivations are not neatly divided by income. The reported share primarily motivated by the work itself changes little across income groups, and about a third of craft and trade workers fall into that category. For employers and policymakers, the findings point to possible costs of treating work only as a source of wages. Still, the study does not show that people who say they value work would actually refuse a real offer, or how their choices might change under different economic conditions.
The paper finds modest differences in the income people say they would require to quit: after statistical controls, purpose-driven respondents asked for about 1.9 to 5.8 percentage points more than respondents primarily motivated by pay, depending on the method. At an annual salary of $60,000, that would amount to roughly $1,100 to $3,500. The authors’ estimates describe stated preferences within this survey; they are not evidence of a guaranteed wage premium in real labor markets.
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How the Survey Framed Leaving Work
The preprint, titled “What is Work For? Labor, Politics, and Meaning in the Age of AI,” is a 39-page version-one paper posted to arXiv in General Economics on October 29, 2026. It had not been peer-reviewed at the time described in the source material. The survey was conducted online by polling organization More in Common in June and July 2026, with national quotas for age, gender, education and region in each country.
The sample included 2,032 respondents in Denmark, 2,072 in India, 2,052 in the UK and 2,078 in the US. The paper says the survey was supported by Google DeepMind, Jacobs’ employer, and states that its views do not necessarily reflect those of Oxford or DeepMind. The source material notes that the Indian online sample was younger, more urban and more educated than the country’s population overall, a limitation relevant to country comparisons.
To classify work values, respondents rated the importance of factors such as pay, benefits, purpose, learning, contribution to society, belonging, social interaction and status. The study then compared these profiles with answers about quitting, AI-related job concerns and political attitudes. Its political analysis is more limited: the paper reports that work-value groups did not differ significantly in populist vote intention, while people motivated by purpose or community became more pessimistic when they expected AI to harm jobs in their industry.
“A basic income “may indeed be necessary” in an AI labor shock, but “could ultimately fail to compensate workers” for what work gives beyond money.”
— Julian Jacobs, paper author
Limits of the Stated Choices
The survey records hypothetical answers, not decisions made after receiving an actual guaranteed-income offer. It remains unclear whether respondents would behave the same way if their job, benefits, household finances or future prospects were genuinely at stake. The paper does not test whether income support can replace workplace relationships or purpose over time.
The results are also from a single online survey and a preprint that had not undergone peer review. The source material says the paper’s version could change, and the India sample’s demographic profile limits how confidently its country result can be generalized. Its political findings do not establish causal effects, and the study does not predict how many jobs AI will replace. The survey was supported by Google DeepMind; the paper discloses that funding and says its views do not necessarily represent the institutions involved.
Peer Review and Further Evidence
The next step is for the preprint to receive scrutiny from researchers and, potentially, to appear in a revised version. The source material does not identify a peer-review schedule or a planned follow-up survey. Readers should treat the reported figures as findings from the current version, rather than settled estimates.
Further research could compare these hypothetical responses with choices made when people face actual income guarantees, job changes or AI-related disruption. For now, the paper offers a cross-country snapshot of what respondents say work provides and what they say they would accept to leave it; it does not establish how future workers will respond to automation or which policies will replace the non-financial parts of work.
Key Questions
Who conducted the survey?
The survey was conducted online by More in Common in June and July 2026. The paper’s author, Julian Jacobs, is affiliated with the University of Oxford and Google DeepMind.
How many workers would stay for 120% of their salary?
About 20% of respondents said they would not quit even if guaranteed income reached 120% of their current salary, with healthcare, pension and paid leave retained.
Does the study show that basic income can replace a job?
No. It asks people to respond to a hypothetical offer. Jacobs argues that income support might not replace work’s non-financial benefits, but the survey does not test a basic-income program or observe actual behavior.
Has the paper been peer-reviewed?
No. The source describes it as a version-one arXiv preprint, posted October 29, 2026, and says it had not been peer-reviewed. Its findings may change in later versions.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
