How to negotiate salary using the power of the reciprocity rule

An employee negotiating their salary can often feel a complete lack of bargaining power. If the employee lacks alternative jobs and therefore cannot make a credible threat to quit or take another job, it is easy to feel that the offer made by the employer is a take-it-or-leave-it offer in which the employee cannot influence at all.

However, the employee or job applicant can take advantage of the laws of human nature to increase their influence when negotiating salary. One of these laws says that every human being has an interest in being recognized as a worthy member of society. The only chance of being recognized as such a member is to demonstrate that one is willing to abide by the basic norms of the society. Not complying with these basic norms is placing yourself outside of society, a condition that is unbearable for most people.

The most fundamental norm of society is the rule of reciprocity. According to Wikipedia, the norm of reciprocity is “the social expectation that people will respond to each other in kind, returning benefit for benefit and responding with indifference or hostility to harm.”

The power of this rule can be felt in most negotiation situations. Suppose a buyer and a seller are haggling over the price of a car. The seller starts with an offer of $24,000. The buyer finds this offer unacceptable and makes a counteroffer of $15,000. Now, the seller lowers his offer to $20,000, that is, he makes a concession. In this case, the buyer will be inclined to increase his offer, perhaps to $17,000. The reason why the buyer will feel this inclination is because of the presence of the reciprocity norm.. This rule now requires the buyer to respond to the seller’s concession with another concession.

The rule of reciprocity is so powerful that it can be harnessed in almost any negotiation situation, even by a party that is otherwise completely lacking in influence. This standard is a very powerful ally for the employee or job applicant negotiating its salary, if properly appealed.

The reciprocity rule will only work if it is very clear that the employee is making a concession or giving something away to the employer. This can be done in several ways. If, for example, the employer has worked overtime for months without any compensation, you might say, “I really like this job. That’s why I’ve been putting in hours and hours of overtime here. I think it’s only fair that I get some kind of compensation for my efforts for this company”. Another way is to start the salary negotiation by making a high but reasoned salary claim, from which a concession can be made in the next round.

With the rule of reciprocity in their toolbox, the employee or job seeker negotiating your salary will have dramatically increased their leverage.