This paper presents findings from a module in the HSRC's 2006 South African social attitudes survey that was designed by the Centre for the analysis of South African social policy at the University of Oxford. Respondents were asked for their views on issues relating to the importance of work and the relationship between social grants and employment. The findings demonstrate a strong attachment to the labour market among the unemployed, support for more financial assistance for poor people including those who are unable to find work, and no evidence that social grants in South Africa foster a 'dependency culture'. The human sciences research council's urban, rural and economic development research programme (URED) uses a multi-disciplinary approach to promote integrated urban and rural development in southern Africa and across the continent. Poverty reduction is the unifying, overarching theme and purpose of URED's work, and the programme's activities coalesce around the themes of - poverty and rural development; infrastructure and service delivery; urban change and migration; and human development, tourism, and climate change. The analysis presented in this monograph is part of an ongoing collaboration between URED and the Centre for the analysis of South African social policy at the University of Oxford in relation to poverty and social policy in contemporary South Africa.