HOLD THE REWARD STEADY
When effort rises, increasing the reward at the same time would make the improvement difficult to attribute to leadership.
Increase responsibility, pace and expectations while preserving pay, status, security and advancement until the expanded contribution becomes the new baseline. Recognition can bridge the period between demonstrated value and budget availability.
Reconstructed Handbook series.
Unfortunately, the research…
Claim
The effort–reward imbalance model proposes that persistent failed reciprocity between high effort and low reward is a psychosocial work stressor associated with adverse health outcomes.
Evidence
Three decades of research and systematic reviews support associations between effort–reward imbalance and stress-related health risks, while also identifying methodological and contextual limitations in the evidence base.
Strength: Strong
Sources
- Siegrist (2026) — Three decades of effort–reward imbalance research
- Siegrist & Li (2016) — Systematic review of effort–reward imbalance and health
The Directive is satire. The research summary is not. Evidence is stated separately and qualified to the underlying literature rather than treated as proof of the joke.