Trends in effort at work in the UK

Gimenez-Nadal, Jose Ignacio and Sevilla, Almudena ORCID: 0000-0001-6143-5903 (2024) Trends in effort at work in the UK. Oxford Economic Papers, 76 (3). pp. 628-646. ISSN 0030-7653

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Abstract

This article links detailed 24-h diary surveys in the UK for the last four decades, to provide evidence of an increase in work effort in three specific dimensions: timing, nature, and composition. We rule out certain proposed explanations of these trends, finding that the decrease in the frequency of on-the-job leisure is more pronounced for workers in routine task-intensive occupations. Alternative supply-side and demand-side explanations, such as changes in relative preferences for leisure, or an increase in off-shoring, or competition for jobs, cannot explain our results. Our findings suggest that the amount and frequency of on-the-job leisure can be used as a measure of work effort, and that the routine-biased technological changes experienced during this period lie at the root of the increase in work effort in the UK.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2023 Oxford University Press
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J23 - Employment Determination; Job Creation; Demand for Labor; Self-Employment J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Date Deposited:	17 Jun 2024 10:51
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 08:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123891

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