Free pizza is a common motivator on college campuses, but a new study has found that free pizza in the workplace can increase productivity more than money, Esquire reports.
The study was conducted by Duke University psychology professor Dan Ariely and published in his new book, Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations. It looked at productivity levels of workers at a factory in Israel when they were offered different incentives to produce a certain number of chips.
The first group was offered a cash bonus of around $30, the second group was offered an appreciation text from their boss, the third group was offered a voucher for pizza and the fourth group was a control group, receiving no incentives for increased productivity.
On the first day, pizza came out on top with a 6.7 percent increase in productivity compared to the control group. The compliment from the boss came in second, while the cash bonus came in third with only a 4.9 percent increase compared to the control group.
Surprisingly, on the second day, the cash bonus finished 13.2 percent below the control group, and, over the course of the study, cost the company more—it resulted in a 6.5 percent decrease in productivity.
At the conclusion of the week, the “well done!” text from the boss was the ultimate motivator, with free pizza coming in second, the control group in third and the money bonus group in fourth.
So next time your internship boss wants you to up the amount you’re doing, tell them that a compliment and a slice of pizza will go a loooong way in helping you get it done!