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 eect of working hours on productivity. We nd 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.
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 eect of working hours on productivity. We nd 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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ROA |
| Number of pages | 38 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Publication series
| Series | ROA Research Memoranda |
|---|---|
| Number | 004 |
JEL classifications
- j23 - Labor Demand
- j22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- m12 - "Personnel Management; Executive Compensation"
- m54 - Personnel Economics: Labor Management
Keywords
- working hours
- productivity
- output
- labour demand