Massive bonuses might actually cause poor performance →
By Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, for the New York Times:
Wall Street’s multimillion-dollar bonuses have long roused the populist ire. Bankers routinely defended their excessive pay saying it simply amounted to exceptional rewards for exceptional performance. The implication was that if you cut bonuses, you’d cut performance. My research suggests otherwise. Very large bonuses actually can cause job performance to deteriorate. Super-sized pay can take executive’s minds off their jobs and onto their bonuses.
