Determining a Motivational Wage

An employee values their time while unemployed at an equivalent of $10 per hour. To perform their job to the required standard, they must exert effort that they perceive as a personal cost equivalent to $3 per hour. At what specific hourly wage would this employee feel equally well-off working with the required effort as they would being unemployed?

Worker Motivation at the Indifference Point

If a company offers a wage that is exactly equal to the sum of a worker's reservation wage and the personal cost (disutility) of exerting effort, this is sufficient to guarantee the worker will not shirk their responsibilities.