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Giving employees a bonus to spend on charities or co-workers may increase job satisfaction and team sales, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and other institutions conducted three experiments.

In the first experiment, some employees at an Australian bank were given a 425-dollar or a $50 voucher to donate to a charity of their choice on behalf of the company. Researchers found that employees who donated the larger amount to charity reported improved happiness and job satisfaction compared to those who did not donate to charity or donated the smaller amount.

In the other experiments, researchers measured the performance of 11 sports teams in Canada and 14 pharmaceutical sales teams in Belgium after receiving bonuses. A third of each team was selected to receive 20 dollars to spend either on themselves, or on their teammates.

In both experiments, researchers found that when participants spent their bonuses on teammates, the whole team performed significantly better than when individuals spent their bonuses on themselves. Researchers said this increase in team performance may also earnings as a whole.

Researchers found that a pharmaceutical sales team received $52 for every ten dollars given to a team member to spend on their colleagues.

"The results across three studies suggest that a minor adjustment to employee bonuses - shifting the focus from the self to others - can create more altruistic, satisfying, and productive workplace," lead researcher Lalin Anik said in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS ONE.