Stubborn people are more likely to receive a higher salary

‘No, no and no again.’ Do you know that you can sometimes be wonderfully stubborn? Be glad about it.

I can often persist in a discussion and confidently assert time and again that I am indeed right – even if I ultimately lose the battle. ‘Yes and amen’ you won’t hear me say that quickly. Ha.

Because wanting to follow your own plan isn’t so bad. Research shows that stubborn people earn more money. And well, everyone wants that, right? Because those who always assert their opinion and don’t give others automatic credit come across as more self-assured in every job. And that pays off.

According to an American scientific study, stubborn children are quite successful later in life. To reach this conclusion, they kept track of no less than 700 participants from the age of 8 to 50. They particularly focused on personality traits such as having a clear ambition and a sense of justice. What turns out? Kids who occasionally disregarded their parents' rules had a nice paycheck waiting for them later in life. They also completed more studies on average than their obedient peers (psst: being smart can also come from having a sister ).

How is it that stubbornness is rewarded? According to the researchers, it’s not so easy to explain. However, they are sure that it has to do with the fact that more stubborn people are less likely to say ‘yes’ to a certain salary when they start working. They negotiate more and more effectively about their monthly earnings than the more compliant people. And those skills they learned in their youth. Because those who used to have extensive discussions with mom and dad about whether or not to come home later than 1:00 AM, still know how to get their way. And know how to stand up for themselves, even with the boss.

‘Yes, but…’ is undoubtedly on my list of ‘most-used-ways-to-start-a-sentence’. That said, yes, but I always find negotiating about money difficult, despite my stubborn way of ‘consulting’. And I prefer to just stick to the rules at work. As a teenager, I could come home at 2:00 AM, as long as I whined about it long enough. That much is true. Ah, everyone has their specialty, right?
Does the crockery ever fly through the house when you have a stubborn argument with your partner? That’s not a problem at all.

FACTS

– The average income in the Netherlands is €2,808 gross and net (so what you take home) about €2,021.
– In Luxembourg, people are paid the most on average. They earn an average of €40,724 per year. For comparison: in our little frog country, we earn an average of €29,933 per year.

Source: Business Insider

Written by: Tessa Heinhuis