"In general, the figure shows a negative link between CEO pay and approval ratings:

Lower-paid CEOs receive the highest approval marks, while the highest-paid CEOs

receive the lowest average approval ratings," said the study. 

However, it quickly added that the relationship is "complex" and "noisy," pointing out that CEO approval is influenced by many factors besides executive pay, such as company culture and performance. However even when controlling for these other factors, the study said that there remains a link between CEO pay and negative impressions of that CEO by workers.