> Another explanation is that the reward makes the work seem distasteful. “If they have to bribe me to do it,” a person might figure, “it must be something I don’t want to do.”
Logically this also applies to any form of compensation, say, your wages. (Hence the derogatory term "wages slave" from these who can afford not to depend on wages.)
The old recipe for that is to "pay your engineers so much money they won't know what to do with it" (can't find that quote from 1980s), but the realty market has adapted and likely made this a largely inefficient strategy.
I think fixed wages have less of an effect on this because you get used to them so you don't really think about them. Especially when you aren't working hourly, the relationship between the work you do and your pay is often very tenuous. So it can feel like you are doing the work for its own sake.
For me, getting paid per hour is anathema to my enjoyment of the work. It’s a perverse incentive if I get things done faster than expected and a source of worry if things take longer. I’d much rather get paid per project, or get paid salary with TOIL for overtime worked.
Logically this also applies to any form of compensation, say, your wages. (Hence the derogatory term "wages slave" from these who can afford not to depend on wages.)
The old recipe for that is to "pay your engineers so much money they won't know what to do with it" (can't find that quote from 1980s), but the realty market has adapted and likely made this a largely inefficient strategy.