ÜBERCEO

A study by Harvard Business School found that exposure to perks has a negative effect on decision makers. Living and working in luxury leads individuals to put their self-interests over the interests of others. Furthermore, it makes them indifferent and, as a result, their actions may be harmful to others. 

Researchers Roy Y. J. Chua and Xi Zou studied the psychological consequences of living in luxury. In their research paper, "The Devil Wears Prada? Effects of Exposure to Luxury Goods on Cognition and Decision Making,” they explain that “luxury-primed individuals tend to make decisions that are self-interested and arguably unethical.”

What’s more, “luxury-primed” individuals are more likely to make decisions that are harmful to others. Roy Chua explains that “self-interested behaviors are often conflated with those that do harm to others (e.g., selling low-quality products that might be harmful to consumers). Luxury does not necessarily induce one to do harm to others, but simply causes one to be less concerned or considerate toward them.”

So does this mean that if our CEOs held their meetings in humble conference rooms, instead of five star hotels, they would be making better, more responsible decisions? Does this mean that if they flew business class instead of by corporate jet and if they hailed a cab instead of a chauffeured limo, their business choices would be more considerate?

“The Devil Wears Prada” is a study and not real life, so it is hard to tell. Is your CEO impacted by her access to luxury goods and perks. Do you think they cloud his judgement? Let us know.