Have you ever promised your kids pizza if they behave or do well on a test? Well it doesn’t stop working just because you grow up.
A researcher at Duke University wanted to find out what would motivate people to work harder . . . a small bonus, props from their boss, or free pizza. And PIZZA did surprisingly well.
He did the study at a factory in Israel that makes computer chips, and sent three emails to three different groups of workers every day for a week.
One said they’d get free pizza if they met a certain goal by the end of the day . . . another said they’d get a compliment from their boss . . . and the third one said they’d get a $30 bonus.
And on day one, the employees who got pizza did more work than ANYONE. It increased productivity by 6.7%, just edging out a compliment from the boss at 6.6%.
For some reason, a $30 bonus actually made people do LESS work. They were about 5% more productive on the first day . . . but did 13% less work than normal on day two . . . and 6.5% less over the course of the week.
A compliment from the boss ended up having the biggest impact over the course of the entire week, and pizza was a close second. But that might be because we just don’t want pizza five days in a row. (New York Magazine)
Comments