American Economic Review· 2012Q1
Inequality at Work: The Effect of Peer Salaries on Job Satisfaction
- 1,056citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2012year
Short summary
Disclosing peer salaries significantly lowered job satisfaction and increased job search intentions for below-median earners at the University of California, while above-median earners were unaffected.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Below-median earners reported lower pay and job satisfaction after peer salary disclosure.
- Below-median earners showed a significant increase in the likelihood of looking for a new job.
- Above-median earners' job satisfaction and search intentions remained unaffected.
- Differences in pay rank were found to be more influential than differences in absolute pay levels.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
We study the effect of disclosing information on peers' salaries on workers' job satisfaction and job search intentions. A randomly chosen subset of University of California employees was informed about a new website listing the pay of University employees. All employees were then surveyed about their job satisfaction and job search intentions. Workers with salaries below the median for their pay unit and occupation report lower pay and job satisfaction and a significant increase in the likelihood of looking for a new job. Above-median earners are unaffected. Differences in pay rank matter more than differences in pay levels. (JEL I23, J28, J31, J64)
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. American Economic Review, 2012 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Safety Research
Safety ResearchSocial Sciences