Interesting study on human incentives and compensation:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/pay-transparency-law-california-nyc-jobs-11663795163?st=99890idef19zxb6&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Operations Executive | CEO, COO | Tech, Ops, Efficiency | Fmr. Kickstarter, TeachersPayTeachers | NYCOO.org

"The employees who discovered they were paid less than their peers didn’t suddenly put in less effort at work. They just exerted a different kind of effort."

"In a likely response to what they perceived as unfair pay, these NHL players sacrificed defense and shifted their attention to offense, since players who were better at offense commanded higher salaries in contract negotiations."

"But wage disclosure helped make the market for hockey talent more efficient. In the 1990 season, team payroll had no correlation with team performance, according to Mr. Flynn’s research. Immediately after the 1990 season, money and success were forever linked."

"Teams were ultimately hurt by underpaying players, he found, but they were not helped by overpaying them. That means the optimal strategy for companies is to pay employees precisely what they’re worth."

"It’s a lesson that’s easy to forget but important to remember: No matter where they work, how much they make and who else knows, most people just want to be valued properly."

Would it work as neatly in more subjective jobs where employees have a harder time fairly comparing themselves to their co-workers? Do we have sufficient self-awareness to gauge our value?

"They had seen the skills their labor market rewarded—and they were following the money. But this was counterproductive. The performance of their teams suffered when they altered their individual play."