A new study now suggests that when it comes to motivating forlorn colleagues on a dreary Monday morning, offering them free food will almost always perk them up.
And to add to that, it’s also likely to actually boost productivity levels.
Incidentally, handing out any kind of free food apparently does not do the trick, the study specifically states that the key to motivating people in the office is by offering them free pizza.
In a study led by psychologist Dan Ariely as part of his book, Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations, it transpired that handing out pizza at work was more likely to incentivise office workers than a cash bonus.
Conducted at a semiconductor factory at Intel in Israel, Ariely sent workers one of three messages at the beginning of the working week to see which would motivate them to get the most work done.
The first offered them a cash bonus worth $30 (£29), the second said their boss would compliment them and the third promised a voucher for free pizza.
After just one day, pizza proved to be the most motivating message, with productivity levels increasing by 6.7 per cent ahead of a control group who received no messages.
Compliments proved almost as motivating, increasing productivity by 6.6 per cent.
However, the cash bonus motivated workers by just 4.9 per cent. In fact, after two days those who received the money offer were 13.2 per cent less productive in the office. By the end of the week, Ariely noticed productivity levels had dropped for this group by 6.5 per cent drop in total.
