Cash Or Pizza – Which Motivates You More?

I’m not sure I personally agree, but a new study says for workers like you and me, compliments and pizza are more motivating than a bonus! (I say, give me the bonus and I’ll buy my own pizza!)  BUT – back to the study.

Dan Ariely, author of Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations, tested workers at a semiconductor factory at Intel in Israel.  The workers received one of three emails: One says you will get a cash bonus, another says your boss will give you a rare compliment and the third says you'll get a voucher for free pizza.

Workers got the emails at the beginning of the work week, while about a quarter of them got no email serving as the control group.

After the first day, pizza proved to be the top motivator, as it increased productivity by 6.7%, as compared to the control group. Those who received a compliment promise increased their productivity by 6.6%, as compared to the control group.

The worst motivator was the cash bonus which only brought in a 4.9% productivity increase, as compared to the control group, and by the second day those who got the bonus email performed 13.2% worse than those in the control group. (NYMag)