Recover Overnight? Work Interruption and Worker Productivity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cai, Xiqian; Gong, Jie; Lu, Yi; Zhong, Songfa
• 署名单位: Xiamen University; National University of Singapore; Tsinghua University; National University of Singapore
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2017.2792
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 3489-3500
• 关键词: productivity; Labour supply; work interruption; reference dependence; emotion

摘要

This paper investigates the effect of work interruption on workers' subsequent productivity. We employ a data set of individual productivity and machine conditions, in which each worker faces the chance, on a daily basis, that her machine will break down randomly. Our analysis finds that compared to a workday with smooth production, experiencing a machine breakdown is associated with a 3.3 percentage point decline in the worker's productivity the following day. We discuss possible explanations for the observed effect, including negative emotions, increased cautiousness in operating the machine, and proficiency loss. Our findings shed light on the importance of understanding and managing interruptions in the workplace, and contribute to a growing literature on the determinants of productivity at the micro level.