--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are willing to work free, and they…" description: "\"People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a small payment and they will walk away.\" — Da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png" --- # People are willing to work free, and they are willing to… ![“People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a small payment and they will walk away.” quote by Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png) > “People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a small payment and they will walk away.” [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People will work for free or a fair wage, but a small payment can demotivate them, causing them to quit. **In simple terms:** Small pay can demotivate even willing workers. Key Takeaway Offer fair compensation to maintain motivation. Themes motivation economics fairness Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type psychological economic When to use this quote - volunteer work - gig economy - low‑wage jobs Key Concepts behavioral economics incentives labor markets Questions to Reflect On - Why do people reject low pay despite need? - What determines a “reasonable” wage? A Different Perspective If payment is too low, perceived value drops and effort declines. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Payment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/payment/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-willing/) [Reasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable/) [Reasonable Wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasonable-wage-3629650/) [Social norms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-norms/) [Wage Offer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wage-offer-3629651/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-work/) [Work Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-free-379294/) ## Related quotes > [The general tendency towards an eight-hour working day has undoubtedly been healthful, and it is wise for the State to set a good example…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-general-tendency-towards-an-eight-hour-working-day-has/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [People will take every opportunity to pay you nothing if you're willing to do your work for free, be you man or woman. Women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-katharine-ham/people-will-take-every-opportunity-to-pay-you-nothing-if-you-re/) [Mary Katharine Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-katharine-ham/) > [The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-world-is-full-of-willing-people-some-willing-to-work-the-rest/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The world is filled with willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-world-is-filled-with-willing-people-some-willing-to-work-the-rest/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [We can not wait until we have enough trained people willing to work at a teacher's salary and under conditions imposed upon teachers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/major-owens/we-can-not-wait-until-we-have-enough-trained-people-willing-to-work/) [Major Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/major-owens/) > [There are people who are willing to work within the system, and people who don't want to work with the system at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/there-are-people-who-are-willing-to-work-within-the-system-and-people/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I've always been worried about people who are willing to work for nothing. Sometimes that's all you get from them, nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ervin/i-ve-always-been-worried-about-people-who-are-willing-to-work-for/) [Sam Ervin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ervin/) > [Once you break the social norm and create a new social norm, all of a sudden it can stay with us for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/once-you-break-the-social-norm-and-create-a-new-social-norm-all-of-a/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“A few years ago, for instance, the AARP asked some lawyers if they would offer less expensive services to needy retirees, at something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/a-few-years-ago-for-instance-the-aarp-asked-some-lawyers-if-they/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“feeling so far is that standardized testing and performance-based salaries are likely to push education from social norms to market norms. The United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/feeling-so-far-is-that-standardized-testing-and-performance-based/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [In the U.S., I think there is an ideology of not telling kids what to do. Nobody to tell you who to marry, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/in-the-u-s-i-think-there-is-an-ideology-of-not-telling-kids-what-to/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“So imagine two scenarios. Let’s say it’s the holidays, and two different neighbors invite you to their parties in the same week. You accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/so-imagine-two-scenarios-let-s-say-it-s-the-holidays-and-two/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“people are sometimes willing to sacrifice the pleasure they get from a particular consumption experience in order to project a certain image to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/people-are-sometimes-willing-to-sacrifice-the-pleasure-they-get-from/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Never do any work for free or get any work done for free if you are good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher/never-do-any-work-for-free-or-get-any-work-done-for-free-if-you-are/) [Mazher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher/) > [“For some employers, there is no more glorious work than work done for free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/for-some-employers-there-is-no-more-glorious-work-than-work-done-for/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) ## More by Dan Ariely > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [ “\[..\] we human beings are ready and willing to steal something that does not explicitly reference monetary value - that is, something that lacks… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/we-human-beings-are-ready-and-willing-to-steal-something-that-does/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Contrafreeloading,” a term coined by the animal psychologist Glen Jensen, refers to the finding that many animals prefer to earn food rather than simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/contrafreeloading-a-term-coined-by-the-animal-psychologist-glen/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [One of the big lessons from behavioral economics is that we make decisions as a function of the environment that we're in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-big-lessons-from-behavioral-economics-is-that-we-make/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Not all debt is bad. From time to time we should get into debt when there's a good reason for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/not-all-debt-is-bad-from-time-to-time-we-should-get-into-debt-when/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“This result suggests that cheating is not driven by concerns about standing out. Rather, it shows that our sense of our own morality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/this-result-suggests-that-cheating-is-not-driven-by-concerns-about/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“ONE OF THE main differences between standard and behavioral economics involves this concept of “free lunches.” According to the assumptions of standard economics, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-main-differences-between-standard-and-behavioral-economics/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend on something, that's something you can't spend on something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-every-time-you-spend-on-something/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [The people that lend you money basically give you an answer based on the risk that they are willing to take. But just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/the-people-that-lend-you-money-basically-give-you-an-answer-based-on/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Upton Sinclair once noted, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/upton-sinclair-once-noted-it-is-difficult-to-get-a-man-to-understand/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If you get people to feel that they are putting something, that they are creating it and so on, their love for the project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-get-people-to-feel-that-they-are-putting-something-that-they/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If I gave you now, $10 as a gift, how happy would you be? Would you be happy, is the marginal $10, the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-i-gave-you-now-10-as-a-gift-how-happy-would-you-be-would-you-be/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Imagine you have six loans, small to huge. People want to close loans and because of that, they try to pay off the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/imagine-you-have-six-loans-small-to-huge-people-want-to-close-loans/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“he started by selling his Porsche Boxster and buying a Toyota Prius in its place.4 “I don’t want to live the life of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/he-started-by-selling-his-porsche-boxster-and-buying-a-toyota-prius/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) [Explore all 198 Dan Ariely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) [Maureen Andeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-andeson/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a small payment and they will walk away.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Ariely" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they-are-willing-to-work-for-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friendship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they-are-willing-to-work-for-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/dan-ariely-1899_friendship_people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they_2016531.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a…” — Dan Ariely", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dan Ariely", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People are willing to work free,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they-are-willing-to-work-for-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/people-are-willing-to-work-free-and-they-are-willing-to-work-for-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```