Promoting the best individual performer is the most common promotion rule and one of the least reliable. The evidence for the Peter Principle and what to do instead.
Hr · Topic
HR Psychology — Page 3
The psychology behind HR decisions: how hiring, pay raises, promotions, feedback, discipline and exits are experienced by the people involved, and what the research says managers should do.
- 36 guides
- 6 subtopics
- Updated Nov 11, 2026
All guides · page 3
Passed Over: The Psychology of Telling Someone They Didn’t Get the Promotion
The colleague who did not get the job comes back to work on Monday. How they were told decides whether they stay engaged, withdraw or leave. A manager’s guide.
Salary Negotiation Psychology for Managers: Anchors, Counteroffers and Who Never Asks
Pay set by negotiation rewards the people most willing to ask, not the people who contribute most. A manager’s guide to the psychology of pay bargaining and how to keep it fair.
Bonus Psychology: When Incentives Backfire
Pay for performance works well for simple, measurable tasks and unpredictably for everything else. A research-based guide to when bonuses motivate and when they do damage.
Pay Transparency Psychology: What Happens When Everyone Knows
Pay transparency laws are spreading. The research shows that knowing what colleagues earn changes satisfaction, effort and bargaining in ways that are not always the ones employers expect.
How to Say No to a Raise Request Without Losing the Employee
When someone asks for more money and the answer is no, what they hear is rarely about money. A guide to declining a raise request in a way that keeps trust, with scripts.
Pay Raise Psychology: Why a 4% Raise Can Feel Like an Insult
A raise is never just a number. People compare it with what colleagues got, what they expected and what they believe they contributed. Here is the psychology, and how to deliver raises that motivate.
Culture Fit or Comfort Fit? The Psychology of Hiring People Like Us
Fit with an organisation’s values does predict satisfaction and retention. But in most interviews “fit” means “like me”. This guide separates the two and shows how to test for the real thing.
Job Offer Psychology: Why Good Candidates Say No
Candidates do not weigh offers like spreadsheets. They compare against a reference point, feel losses more than gains and read meaning into every delay. Here is how to make offers people accept.
The Psychology of Rejecting Candidates Without Losing Them
Most people you interview will not get the job. How they are told shapes what they say about you, whether they reapply and whether they stay customers.
Why Structured Interviews Beat Gut Feeling: The Evidence
Structured interviews roughly double the predictive power of a casual conversation. This guide explains the research, why managers resist it and how to build a structured interview in an afternoon.
Interview Bias: The Psychology of Deciding in the First Five Minutes
Most interviewers form a view of a candidate within minutes and then collect evidence for it. Here is what the research says about the biases at work and how to design them out.