Comments and Questions: Email [email protected] this episode of The Problem with Work we discuss the second part of chapter 3, Working Demands, and specifically about Kathi Weeks’ formulation of a proposal for a Universal Basic Income.Following in her footsteps, we elaborate upon a Universal Basic Income as a concrete policy proposal, but also as a conceptual tool of analysis, in the forms of a critical perspective on the present, and as a provocation to ambitiously re-imagine the future.After this discussion, we present our professional insights surrounding Universal Basic Income as a policy and as a political demand.Nancy explains some examples of psychological impacts that the introduction of a UBI could potentially have on workers and on society. Interdisciplinary research suggests a UBI could address many of the determinants of mental health and well-being commonly experienced today.Benedetta talks about a few examples of Basic Income programs for artists and other programs of government support for the arts, their impact for both artists and potentially audiences, and the aspirational nature of such programs, in their recognition (even if partial) of the importance of the sector for society.Question of the Episode: How would receiving a UBI change your sense of security and connectedness in relation to your work life? Art of the Episode: Look at Art. Get Paid (2016), Maia Chao. Look at Art. Get Paid was a socially engaged art project that paid people that didn’t visit art museums to visit one as guest critics of the art and the institution.Maia Chao and team recruited visitor-critics through advertisements in public transports. They received 200+ responses, and 41 people were invited as guest critics, with priority given to BIPOC, working class people, people with disabilities, and black.The projects yielded very interesting insights for the museum on their audience engagement and inclusivity. The guest critics offered accounts of what the museum looked and felt like for a newcomer, and the feedback was instrumental in adjusting museum curatorial decisions and policies.Works citedWeeks, K. (2011). The Problem with Work. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822394723Gentilini, U. et al. (2020). Exploring Universal Basic Income. World Bank Group. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/993911574784667955/pdf/Exploring-Universal-Basic-Income-A-Guide-to-Navigating-Concepts-Evidence-and-Practices.pdfGriffin, V., Zlotowitz, S., McLoughlin, E., Kagan, C. Psychologists for Social Change, (2017). Universal Basic Income: A Psychological Impact Assessment. PAA: London.Stanford Basic Income Lab: https://basicincome.stanford.edu/research/guaranteed-income-dashboard/Sodergren, M. (2024, March 26). Charting progress on the global goals and decent work - ILOStat.Würfel, C. (2025, August 1). Millennial women were told to chase our dreams. That’s left us burnt out, broke and dreaming of a rich patron. The Guardian. Cover artwork by ⁠Simone Hutsch⁠ from Unsplash.Music by Tech Oasis from Pixabay.

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