What Are Livable Jobs?

Vermonters believe in fairness and are known for our strong work ethic. That's why we also believe that someone who works full-time should be able to meet his/her basic needs without resorting to public financial assistance.

Excerpts from the Livable Jobs Toolkit

A livable job is a combination of wages, benefits, and workplace practices that enables a full-time worker to be financially self-sufficient. At the same time, it is commonly understood that the businesses providing jobs cannot survive over the long term if they spend more money than they bring in. Everyone knows a business must be profitable to survive.

The following questions arise from what some consider to be these two conflicting objectives: livable jobs and profitable companies.

How do certain successful businesses manage to combine making a profit with providing livable jobs?
What can be learned from these companies?
What are the barriers preventing more companies from becoming profitable, livable-job employers?
Which benefits and workplace practices are most commonly added to wages to create livable jobs?
What are the returns on investing in employees by upgrading compensation packages?

Improving the livability of jobs within an individual company is a worthy endeavor in itself. However, each job that becomes a livable job also benefits our overall economy and our communities.

Here's what some employers had to say about employee compensation levels …

“It was a nightmare. They [employees] were constantly late, the car wouldn't start or the baby was sick or they had to wait with cash for a fuel oil delivery. When they did get here, they were frazzled. Their minds certainly weren't on work! I suddenly realized that until they were making enough to live on — until they could focus on work — I was never going to make a decent product in that factory.”

“Being number one was our goal from the get-go. We hire good people, we're clear about our standards, we train them, we pay them well, and we offer every workplace benefit goody you can think of. We have next to-no turnover, we regularly exceed our quality goals, and we are, thank God and don't tell anybody, extremely profitable. Just about every good suggestion for process improvement or cost reduction comes from our employees. We are the national leader — the company to beat.”

“Our turnover rate was cut in half the first year we put in flex-scheduling. It didn't cost us a dime. We have a lot of young parents and just letting them adjust starting or ending times, let them juggle daycare drop offs / pickups, or carpool, or be home when their kids got home from school. It was the smartest thing we ever did.”

“We never really thought about it. Everybody in the village sort of paid the same going rate. Then all of a sudden this new guy comes in, renovates the old inn, and he's paying his staff nearly twice what we're paying. We lost all our best people right as the season started. Then we started losing our best customers…"

Some Benefits of Livable Jobs

After enabling employees to meet their basic living needs, companies that offer opportunities for training and skill improvement can realize an immediate return on their investment through further productivity improvements and a more committed workforce.
Increases in wage/benefit/workplace practices pay for themselves both with increased productivity and quality and with decreased recruitment and training costs resulting from lower turnover.

Some Costs of Non-Livable Jobs

Employees who cannot afford to meet their basic needs for an extended period—food, housing, health care, transportation and child care—can't focus on being the reliable and productive employees needed by companies competing in today's marketplace.
It is difficult to demand superior workmanship or service from those being paid less than a livable wage and benefits package. As an employer, you know this, and your employees know it too. As one manufacturer of premium goods said: “We've always told customers ‘you get what you pay for.' We suddenly realized that's true with our employees too.”
Employers with positions paying non-livable wages and benefits may experience high turnover and the related costs of recruitment and training.

Livable Wage Data:

The Peer to Peer Collaborative is working towards a future in which livable jobs are the foundation of our companies, our economy and our communities.

Print this Page