Getting More Work for Nothing? Symbolic Awards and Worker Performance

Kosfeld, Michael; Neckermann, Susanne

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Getting More Work for Nothing? Symbolic Awards and Worker Performance

IZA Discussion Paper No. 5040

21 Pages Posted: 12 Jul 2010 Last revised: 8 May 2025

See all articles by Michael Kosfeld

Michael Kosfeld

Goethe University Frankfurt; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); University of Bonn - Center for Development Research (ZEF); Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE

Susanne Neckermann

University of Zurich - Department of Economics

Abstract

We study the impact of status and social recognition on worker performance in a field experiment. In collaboration with an international non-governmental organization we hired students to work on a database project. Students in the award treatment were offered a congratulatory card from the organization honoring the best performance. The award was purely symbolic in order to ensure that any behavioral effect is driven by non-material benefits. Our results show that students in the award treatment outperform students in the control treatment by about 12 percent on average. Our results provide strong evidence for the motivating power of status and social recognition in labor relations with major implications for theory and applications.

Keywords: award, non-monetary incentives, status, field experiment, social recognition

JEL Classification: C93, M52

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Kosfeld, Michael and Neckermann, Susanne, Getting More Work for Nothing? Symbolic Awards and Worker Performance. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5040, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1638476