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Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment

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  • Haoran He
  • David Neumark
  • Qian Weng

Abstract

We explore workers’ valuation of job flexibility using a field experiment conducted on a Chinese job board. Our experimental job ads differ randomly in offering jobs that are flexible regarding when (time flexibility) or where (place flexibility) one works and in offering different salaries. Application rates are higher for flexible jobs conditional on the salary offered, providing evidence that workers value job flexibility. Moreover, under some plausible conditions our evidence is informative about job seekers’ willingness to pay for flexible jobs of the types offered in the experiment and points to fairly high valuation of the most flexible jobs.

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  • Haoran He & David Neumark & Qian Weng, 2021. "Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(3), pages 709-738.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/711226
    DOI: 10.1086/711226
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    9. Arntz, Melanie & Ben Yahmed, Sarra & Berlingieri, Francesco, 2018. "Working from Home: Heterogenous Effects on Hours Worked and Wages," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181630, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff & Vernon, Victoria, 2020. "Telework and Time Use in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 13260, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Jeworrek, Sabrina & Brachert, Matthias, 2022. "Where to go? High-skilled individuals' regional preferences," IWH Discussion Papers 27/2022, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Carlos C. Duarte & Nuno D. Cortiços, 2022. "The Energy Efficiency Post-COVID-19 in China’s Office Buildings," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-60, March.
    13. Jason Sockin, 2022. "Show Me the Amenity: Are Higher-Paying Firms Better All Around?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9842, CESifo.
    14. Kuan-Ming Chen & Ning Ding & John A. List & Magne Mogstad, 2020. "Reservation Wages and Workers’ Valuation of Job Flexibility: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," Working Papers 2020-124, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    15. Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia & Victoria Vernon, 2022. "Telework, Wages, and Time Use in the United States," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 687-734, September.
    16. Piotr Lewandowski & Katarzyna Lipowska & Mateusz Smoter, 2022. "Mismatch in preferences for working from home – evidence from discrete choice experiments with workers and employers," IBS Working Papers 05/2022, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    17. Kuan-Ming Chen & Min Ding & John List & Magne Mogstad, 2020. "Reservation Wages and Workers' Valuation of Job Flexibility: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," Natural Field Experiments 00715, The Field Experiments Website.
    18. Benny, Liza & Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernández, Manuel, 2021. "Occupation flexibility and the graduate gender wage gap in the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2021-05, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
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    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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