The Currency of Reciprocity: Gift Exchange in the Workplace

What determines reciprocity in employment relations? We conducteda controlled field experiment to measure the extent to whichmonetary and non-monetary gifts affect workers’ performance. We findthat non-monetary gifts have a much stronger impact than monetarygifts of equivalent value. We also observe that when workers are offeredthe choice, they prefer receiving money but reciprocate as if theyreceived a non-monetary gift. This result is consistent with the commonsaying, “it’s the thought that counts”. We underline this point byshowing that also monetary gifts can effectively trigger reciprocity ifthe employer invests more time and effort into the gift’s presentation