(How) Would You Continue Working? A Comparison of Responses to the Lottery Question and a Basic Income Question

Abstract: The introduction of a basic income (BI) is a controversial topic. A key psychological question is whether most employees would stop or, as suggested by lottery question research, continue working. We addressed this question through two surveys with 268 and 640 employees, examining their plans regarding working if they won the lottery (lottery question) or received a monthly BI (BI question) as well as their reasons for continuing to work. More than 90 % (Study 1) and more than 80 % (Study 2) of respondents planned to continue working in both scenarios. In response to the BI question, more participants indicated they would continue working as before and fewer planned to pursue a different kind of work or to stop working. Financial reasons to continue working were reported more frequently in response to the BI question. Our findings suggest that the generalizability of lottery question research to the BI is limited, which necessitates specific research on the BI.