"A German experiment has found that people are likely to continue working full-time even if they receive no-strings-attached universal basic income payments.

"Universal basic income, also known as guaranteed income, is the idea of giving money to everyone regardless of how much they already earn – to give them the freedom to move between jobs, train for new positions, provide care, or engage in creative pursuits.

"Mein Grundeinkommen (My Basic Income), the Berlin-based non-profit that ran the German study, followed 122 people for three years. From June 2021 to May 2024, this group received an unconditional sum of €1,200 ($1,365) per month.

"The study focused on people aged between 21 and 40 who lived alone and already earned between 1,100 euros (around $1,250) and 2,600 euros ($2,950) a month. They were free to use the extra money from the study on anything they wanted.

"Over the course of three years, the only condition was that they had to fill out a questionnaire every six months that asked about different areas of their lives, including their financial situation, work patterns, mental well-being and social engagement."