When Bonuses Are Cut, Women Keep Working Hard While Men Slack Off, Study Says

Burst/Matthew Henry

What would you do if your company cut your bonus and switched its pay structure to fixed salaries? Well, a recent study found that men would slack off and women would keep working hard.

The study published in the journal Economic Inquiry found that women would work hard whether they were offered a bonus or not. Men, on the other hand, would put in less effort. The findings were striking. Researchers saw a 12-percent drop in the amount of effort that men would put in at work when their bonuses were cut.

This type of decrease in work among male employees could affect companies and industries that have offered performance-based pay structures for years, such as big banks. According to the Telegraph, the banking sector has new rules that will limit bonus payouts and increased salaries. With that in mind, this study suggests that banks could see negative effects on the performance of their male workers when those limits are put in place.

Burst/Sarah Pflug

On the contrary, companies may want to hire more women in order to combat any effects that may result from cutting bonuses and switching to a fixed-pay structure.

There may be little to worry about when it comes to those companies that have never offered a performance-based pay structure. However, the study does suggest that bonuses and increased salaries can have a positive effect on employee performance. Men and women may both work harder to achieve that extra money, though women will work hard either way.

One way both men and women can worry less about their company’s pay structure is to ask for what they’re worth. Negotiating your salary and even a bonus is the best way to ensure you’re being paid what you feel you deserve so that you can always perform your best at work and thrive in your career.

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