Most of us wouldn't turn down a nice Christmas bonus. But according to a new study, a compliment from the boss could make you feel just as good as a handful of cash.

A recent study from the Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan measured the brain activity of people who won a monetary reward in a gambling game, and compared the results to the brain patterns of subjects in an experiment who were complimented by strangers.

"We found that these seemingly different kinds of rewards -- a good reputation versus money -- are biologically coded by the same neural structure, the striatum," researcher Dr. Norihiro Sadato told Reuters. "This provides the biological basis of our everyday experience that personal reputation is felt as rewards."

It's nice to know that if a friend is feeling down, a thoughtful compliment could lift her spirits just as well as an expensive present would. But when it comes to the workplace, if given a choice, we'd still take the cash.