Socializing at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Manufacturing Workers

Sangyoon Park

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 424-55

Abstract: Through a field experiment at a seafood-processing plant, I examine how working alongside friends affects employee productivity and how this effect is heterogeneous with respect to an employee's personality. This paper presents two main findings. First, worker productivity declines when a friend is close enough to socialize with. Second, workers who are higher on the conscientiousness scale show smaller productivity declines when working alongside a friend. Estimates suggest that a median worker is willing to pay 4.5 percent of her wage to work next to friends.

JEL-codes: C93 J24 J28 J31 L66 O15 P23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20160650
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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