Many people want to do more to earn more. But it doesn’t work that easily. This is suggested by an initial study on this question, carried out by the psychologist Mehrzad B. Baktash. The researcher evaluated data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), which covered a period of four years and came from a total of 30,000 people of working age from around 15,000 households.
Baktash comes to the conclusion that such better pay achieved through increased performance harms people’s well-being by causing additional workload and social conflicts within the team and with one’s partner.
As the author suspects, people with such salaries work more than others, which in itself causes stress. As a result, arguments can arise within the workforce and reduce the willingness to support others at work.
Previous research has shown that higher workloads also increase average alcohol consumption. But working more for more money also has positive effects: the higher salary acts as a motivating incentive.
source
Baktash, MB (2026): Does performance pay increase the risk of worker loneliness? Kyklos. DOI: 10.1111/kykl.70018
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