Matthew Royal’s Reviews > Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations > Status Update
Matthew Royal
is 84% done
"There are many ways to kill trust and goodwill. The simplest is to pay people directly for their performance. Imagine... I asked you to stay late three times over the next week to help complete a project ahead of deadline. At the end of the week, you will have not seen your family but .... [a] bonus, however, would put a numerical value on something that wasn’t countable to begin with: your commitment."
— Aug 13, 2025 11:25AM
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Matthew Royal
is 94% done
These last two chapters feel unconnected to the rest of the book. Very little practical application.
— Aug 18, 2025 11:44AM
Also, the example Ariely gives of a choice between rewarding the employee with a hug and taking their family out to dinner vs a cash bonus misses the dimension of attention. He talks about gratitude, which is related, but if there's anything we've learned since this book was published in 2016, it's that most of us don't like it when other people are stuck in their phones when we want their attention.
Both gratitude and attention are valuable only when genuine. Managers trying to save a buck by throwing a pizza party aren't expressing true gratitude, and employees sense it on many levels. Attention can be a gift or a weapon. Some employees hate attention from their bosses. They don't want public recognition in front of the team because then it puts the team's attention on them. Many cultures are wary of "the evil eye" and have charms to prevent others from coveting their wealth or good fortune. There's a huge cultural aspect here that varies by team and individual.
Attention is its own currency and is not intrinsically a reward. Blindly substituting one system of value for another isn't a great strategy, but it's incredibly valuable to think about your actions in terms of both pay and attention.