We’re sure you’re already showing your boss this article and asking for a slice of pepperoni, but here’s the fine print.
The finding was made in a new study by psychologist Dan Ariely, published in his new book Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations. His research took four groups of workers and gave them each a different motivator to hit their daily KPI. One group was promised $40, one group was promised pizza, one group was promised a compliment from their boss via text and one control group was promised nada.
Initially, the winner was pizza. The productivity of the employees promised a slice of the good stuff increased by 6.7 per cent in the first day, compared to the control group. Less delicious, but equally enjoyable, compliments came in a close second with a 6.6 per cent increase.
In Ariely’s study, complements won out in the end, with pizza as a close second. Surprisingly the group promised cold hard cash wound up 6.5 per cent LESS productive than the control group.
This article originally appeared on Women's Health
