It does not matter how hard you work: The importance of task allocation for worker productivity

Lena Sheveleva, Melanie Jones and Irina Harris

Economics Letters, 2023, vol. 227, issue C

Abstract: Using detailed high-frequency administrative data from a large retailer with an online presence in the UK we explore the determinants of worker productivity in a warehouse decant process. We distinguish between worker characteristics, time-specific effects, and task allocation as determinants of productivity and find a dominant role of the latter. This raises concerns about the assumption of random or identical task allocation made in studies when tasks are unobserved. This is especially relevant in the presence of output-related reward systems when workers will have an incentive to influence task allocation.

Keywords: Productivity; Task allocation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 J24 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:227:y:2023:i:c:s0165176523001404

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111115

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