[em-bee]

If fixing the pay makes other complaints disappear, were they ever a primary factor?

i don't think this is the right question.

of course, if i get paid more, i am willing to put up with worse work conditions. (to a degree). so the mere fact that pay makes the problem go away is not an indicator that this was not a real problem.

more pay lets me compensate the problem otherwise. for example it may mean that me or my partner can reduce work hours instead of working from home.