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Working hours and productivity

Author

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  • Marion Collewet
  • Jan Sauermann

Abstract

This paper studies the link between working hours and productivity using daily information on working hours and performance of a sample of call centre agents. We exploit variation in the number of hours worked by the same employee across days and weeks due to central scheduling, enabling us to estimate the effect of working hours on productivity. We find that as the number of hours worked increases, the average handling time for a call increases, meaning that agents become less productive. This result suggests that fatigue can play an important role, even in jobs with mostly part-time workers.
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Suggested Citation

  • Marion Collewet & Jan Sauermann, 2017. "Working hours and productivity," LIDAM Reprints CORE 2905, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvrp:2905
    Note: In : Labour Economics, 47, 96-106, 2017
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    as
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Bank holidays & productivity
      by chris in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2017-04-23 17:07:12

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    8. Françoise Delmez & Vincent Vandenberghe, 2017. "Working long hours: less productive but less costly? Firm-level evidence from Belgium," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2017022, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    9. Nicola Breugst & Holger Patzelt & Dean A. Shepherd, 2020. "When is Effort Contagious in New Venture Management Teams? Understanding the Contingencies of Social Motivation Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(8), pages 1556-1588, December.
    10. Zheng, Hongyun & Vatsa, Puneet & Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshou, 2023. "Working hours and job satisfaction in China: A threshold analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
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    12. Cosaert, Sam & Lefebvre, Mathieu & Martin, Ludivine, 2022. "Are preferences for work reference dependent or time nonseparable? New experimental evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    13. Juliana Abagsonema Abane & Ronald Adamtey & Virceta Owusu Ayim, 2022. "Does organizational culture influence employee productivity at the local level? A test of Denison's culture model in Ghana’s local government sector," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-13, December.
    14. Rachet-Jacquet, Laurie, 2022. "Do breaks from surgery improve the performance of orthopaedic surgeons?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    15. Asai, Kentaro & Lopes, Marta C. & Tondini, Alessandro, 2024. "Firm-Level Effects of Reductions in Working Hours," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 2405, CEPREMAP.
    16. Marco Clemens & Jan Sauermann, 2024. "Making the Right Call: The Heterogeneous Effects of Individual Performance Pay on Productivity," IAAEU Discussion Papers 202405, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    17. Dora Gicheva, 2020. "Occupational Social Value and Returns to Long Hours," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(347), pages 682-712, July.
    18. Sum Lo Simon Ming, 2023. "Desired work-leisure balance in a partial equilibrium job search model with multiple job holding," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-43, December.
    19. Rebecca Allen & Asma Benhenda & John Jerrim & Sam Sims, 2020. "New evidence on teachers' working hours in England. An empirical analysis of four datasets," CEPEO Working Paper Series 20-02, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Jan 2020.
    20. Violeta Cvetkoska & Milanka Dimovska, 2021. "What Will Be The Productivity Of Employees With Shorter Work Hours?," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 12(4), pages 139-162, August.
    21. Elacqua, Gregory & Marotta, Luana, 2020. "Is working one job better than many? Assessing the impact of multiple school jobs on teacher performance in Rio de Janeiro," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    22. Hart, Robert A., 2019. "Labor Productivity during the Great Depression in UK Manufacturing," IZA Discussion Papers 12379, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2018. "Uncertainty over Working Schedules and Compensating Wage Differentials: From the viewpoint of labor management," Discussion papers 18015, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    24. Marta C.Lopes & Alessandro Tondini, 2022. "Firm-Level Effects of Reductions in Working Hours," FBK-IRVAPP Working Papers 2022-05, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (IRVAPP), Bruno Kessler Foundation.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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