"Why don't they just leave then?"

"Whenever I do investigative reporting about companies that treat workers badly, there is usually someone who asks, "Why don't they just leave then? No one is forcing them to work there, are they?" Unsympathetic, perhaps, but it's actually a good question to ask. The answer can reveal a lot about the way an economy does (and doesn't) work.

Sometimes the reasons are obvious. The workers might be in the country illegally, have incurred debts to recruiters they must repay or be tied to their employer by the terms of their visa. Then there is the macroeconomy: when unemployment is high, people don't necessarily have better options.

At other times, though, the question is harder to answer. Take the UK, where unemployment has (until a recent turn in the data) been the lowest for almost 50 years. In spite of that, a report by the Low Pay Commission, the independent body set up to advise the government on minimum wage rates, suggests illegal underpayment of workers has persisted.

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So why do people put up with bad jobs, even when - on paper at least they don't have to? For the LPC, which meets regularly with employers and workers around the country, the answer is often fear. "When you talk to workers about moving jobs, you can literally see the whites of people's eyes, they're really stressed, , David Massey, secretary of the LPC, told me.

For many, the fear is that the next job will be worse, or that it won't last.

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In low-paid jobs where zero-hour contracts are prevalent, working hours can depend not on the contract, but on your relationship with your manager.

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Patchy and expensive local transport plays a role, too. Minimum wage workers are more likely to travel to work by foot or on the bus than others, but this can limit the jobs available.

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In other words, policies that give people a bit more security over predictable schedules and employment rights won't necessarily lead to less flexibility. In fact, they might just have the opposite effect."

Trechos retirados de "Why don't people leave bad jobs?" publicado no FT de ontem