The idea for the book originated when Ehrenreich was sitting at a lunch at a French café with the editor of Harper’s magazine, Lewis Lapham. As they discuss the effects that welfare reform would have on the millions of women who would suddenly be without benefits and would be forced into the world of unskilled labor, Ehrenreich says that someone should try to live on a $6 to $7 an hour job. Lapham tells her that she should be the one to test this hypothesis. 

Ehrenreich initially has many doubts about doing the experiment. She determines that she will conduct the experiment like a “scientist” (3) gathering empirical evidence, setting up several rules, and determining the initial conditions for the experiment. Ehrenreich acknowledges that, at various points in the experiment, she ends up bending or breaking these rules.

The deceptive nature of going undercover is another issue she confronts, deciding that the easiest thing will be to keep as close to the truth as possible. She will explain her lack of relevant job experience during interviews by stating that she is a divorced homemaker with several grown children who is getting her first job after many years out of the workforce.