Final answer:
To restore perceived equity, an underpaid individual may reduce their work efforts, ask for a raise, or quit the job but typically would not increase work efforts. Increasing work is not seen as a way to balance the perceived inequity of being underpaid. Procedural justice and fairness in pay processes play crucial roles in employee satisfaction and behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
An individual who perceives themselves as being underpaid may engage in various behaviors to restore a sense of equity in the workplace. These behaviors include A. reducing work efforts, which is a form of withdrawing one's input to correspond with the lower perceived output (pay). Another common response is B. asking for more rewards or better treatment, where the individual actively seeks an increase in compensation or benefits from their employer to match their input level. Additionally, some individuals may choose C. quitting the job to seek employment elsewhere that compensates them more fairly.
However, increasing work efforts contrasts with the other options listed and is not typically a response to feeling underpaid. For instance, the scenario with a businessman self-comforting the idea of hard work being its own reward is not an action aimed at restoring equity, but rather an internal rationalization. Also, employees leaving a discriminatory business for better-paying opportunities is another example where increased work efforts are not the chosen solution to the issue of being underpaid.
The concept of procedural justice is also significant here because it highlights how the fairness of processes in determining pay can affect employee behavior, such as taking more money than they deserve when explanations for pay are insufficient. Workers react to wage changes differently, and it cannot be assumed that a decrease in income taxes, allowing people to earn more, will necessarily lead to increased working hours.