Increasing the working hours of nurses and teachers: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment

Melline Somers, Tom Stolp, Francesca Burato, Wim Groot, Frits van Merode, Melvin Vooren

Research output: Working paper / PreprintWorking paper

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Abstract

The healthcare and education sectors suffer from shortages of nurses and teachers. Extending their working hours has often been proposed as a solution to this. In this study, we conduct a discrete choice experiment (DCE) in the Netherlands to elicit nurses’ and teachers’ preferences for different jobs and working conditions. We present both nurses and teachers with nine hypothetical choice sets, each consisting of two jobs that differ in seven observable job attributes. From the DCE, we infer workers’ willingness to pay for these different job characteristics. Moreover, we calculate how many additional hours workers would be willing to work if a specific workplace condition were met. We find that both nurses and teachers most negatively value high work pressure. Spending a lot of time on patient-related tasks is highly valued by nurses, followed by having more control over working hours. Next to work pressure, teachers place significant importance on receiving social support from both colleagues and managers. Nurses and teachers who work part-time require higher incentives to work additional hours compared to full-time workers.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationMaastricht
PublisherROA
Number of pages37
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Oct 2024

Publication series

SeriesROA Research Memoranda
Number005E
ISSN2666-8823

JEL classifications

  • j45 - Public Sector Labor Markets
  • j81 - Labor Standards: Working Conditions

Keywords

  • Labour shortage
  • teachers
  • nurses
  • hours worked
  • working conditions
  • discrete choice experiment

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