Pizza can increase work productivity, study finds

A new study claims that pizza is a bigger motivator than cash and can increase productivity in the workplace by 6.7 percent. The discovery was made by psychologist Dan Ariely and detailed in his book Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations.

In the experiment, four groups of office workers were given either: a $30 bonus, a slice of pizza, praise from their boss or nothing.

Ariely found that pizza, as opposed to cash and compliments, was the biggest initial motivator increasing productivity by 6.7 percent on the first day.

Over the course of the week-long study, the most successful group ended up being the group that received compliments.

In his book, Ariely said he feels the pizza group would ultimately win if the pizza was delivered to the participants' homes. “This way … we not only would give them a gift, but we would also make them heroes in the eyes of their families,” he wrote.