Mean Guys Finish First in Salary Stakes

The old saying that nice guys finish last may be true after all.

New research shows that more agreeable or cooperative workers tend to have significantly lower incomes than less agreeable people or those who are boorish in nature.

While the study findings also apply to women workers, the income gap is  widest between the polite guys and the nasty guys.

Men who are one standard deviation below the study’s mean on agreeableness earn an average of 18.31 percent more than men one standard deviation above the mean.

In contrast, the ‘disagreeableness premium’ for women was only 5.47 percent. So, the income premium for disagreeability is more than three times stronger for men than for women.

Study authors – Beth A. Livingston of Cornell University, Timothy A. Judge of the University of Notre Dame and Charlice Hurst of the University of Western Ontario  – admit their findings are a bit puzzling considering the emphasis today’s employers seem to place on teamwork in the workplace.

To read the entire article visit: Mean Guys Finish First in Salary Stakes.

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