Gender differences in productivity responses to performance rankings: Evidence

Résumé

Performance rankings are a pervasive feature of life. Behavioral theories suggest that knowing one's rank may shape effort directly due to its effect on self-image. In a randomized control trial with full time employees (n=527) for whom rankings convey no Direct financial benefits, we study the long run productivity consequences of privately informing them about their performance rank. First, perhaps surprisingly, showing employees their rank actually reduces their performance and this result is driven by the demoralizing effect of being informed of a worse than expected rank. Second, the treatment effect is gender specific, as only men, but not women, reduce their performance which, upon further analysis, is due to the fact that women are less heedful of their rank than men. Rankings are a plausible candidate for a behavioral incentive scheme as they speak to well established theories of interpersonal comparisons and self-image yet this study documents their detrimental effect on performance. This paves the way for further research to improve the design of rank feedback to exploit rank preferences in a way that it raises performance.