Likewise, in the CANWSH and GSS studies, roughly one-quarter of those who feel severely underpaid are "very dissatisfied" with their job, while about 6 per cent of those who feel appropriately paid are "very dissatisfied."
Feeling underpaid doubles the probability that a worker will report experiencing "stress, depression and problems with emotions" on a majority of days in any given month.
Physiological reactions are common, too. Perceived underpayment raises the risks of rating oneself as having poor health, headaches, and stomach, back and chest pain. All this affects sleep quality: Those who feel severely underpaid have more difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Perceived underpayment also hurts because it amplifies other stresses, such as interpersonal conflict, work interfering with non-work life, and having too much work and not enough time.
That's a lot of suffering - and it isn't equally distributed in the population. In collaboration with Atsushi Narisada and Sarah Reid, our research shows that the pain of feeling under-rewarded hurts more among those who earn less, mostly because of the link with greater financial insecurity.