How the Ticking Clock Kills - Stanford Business

Many years ago, when Stanford University switched to a new payroll software platform, professor Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford Graduate School of Business noticed something interesting when he examined his pay statement. Even though he is not paid by the hour, the statement displayed an hourly pay rate. Curious, the organizational behavior professor sought to understand how the university came up with that number. The answer: The hourly pay was his annual salary divided by 2,080 — 52 weeks times 40 hours per week. What was even more interesting was his psychological response to that information.