Be Meaner and Earn More
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 13 September 2011, 00:31 IST
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Be Meaner and Earn More
Bangalore: A new study that surveyed the link between personality and wages unwrapped the fact that 'agreeable' employees earn significantly less than their meaner colleagues and the gap is especially wide for men, reports Rachel Emma Silverman of Walls Street Journal. The scientist examined "agreeableness" with the usage of self-reported survey data and established those men who measured below average on agreeableness earned 18 percent ($9,772) more annually in their sample than nicer guys. However, ruder women earned 5 percent ($1,828) more than their agreeable counterparts. Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, "Do Nice Guys and Gals Really Finish Last? The Joint Effects of Sex and Agreeableness on Income," was authored by Judge, Cornell University's Beth Livingston, and Charlice Hurst of the University of Western Ontario. They examined levels of 'agreeableness' attributed to different people and compared it to their pay. Agreeableness was defined as a tendency towards warmth, kindness and cooperation with other people. The study co-author Beth A. Livingston, says "Nice guys are getting the shaft." The scientist's analyzed data collected over 20 years from three different surveys, sampled around 10,000 workers, comprising a wide range of professions, salaries and ages. The three surveys measured the notion of "agreeableness" in different ways. The researchers also conducted a separate study of 460 business students who were asked to act as human-resource managers for a fictional company and presented short descriptions for candidates for a consultant position. Men who were described as highly agreeable were less likely to get the job. The other research demonstrated that rudeness may not always benefit employees or their firms. A paper presented earlier at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association found that 86 percent of 289 workers at three Midwestern firms in the manufacturing and health-care industries reported incivility at work, including public reprimands and demeaning comments.

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