We study a gift exchange game with 12 employees and one employer. When the employer can offer individually differentiated wages in a setting without collective action, we observe high levels of wages, effort choices, and total earnings. When the employer is restricted to offering a uniform wage,...

When employers can incur losses from the labor relationship in a gift exchange game, they offer lower wages on average than in a no-loss relationship. Taking employers’ risk of losing money into account, employees exert more effort per wage unit.

When an employee in a gift exchange game earns significantly less than the employer, the source of employer income does not affect effort choices. However, to induce one unit of effort, the employer has to pay higher wages than in a game without payoff inequality.