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Socializing at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Manufacturing Workers

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  • Sangyoon Park

Abstract

Through a field experiment at a seafood-processing plant, I examine how working alongside friends affects employee productivity and how this effect is heterogeneous with respect to an employee's personality. This paper presents two main findings. First, worker productivity declines when a friend is close enough to socialize with. Second, workers who are higher on the conscientiousness scale show smaller productivity declines when working alongside a friend. Estimates suggest that a median worker is willing to pay 4.5 percent of her wage to work next to friends.

Suggested Citation

  • Sangyoon Park, 2019. "Socializing at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Manufacturing Workers," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 424-455, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:424-55
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20160650
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    2. Alexandre Mas & Enrico Moretti, 2009. "Peers at Work," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(1), pages 112-145, March.
    3. David S. Lee, 2009. "Training, Wages, and Sample Selection: Estimating Sharp Bounds on Treatment Effects," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(3), pages 1071-1102.
    4. Peter Arcidiacono & Josh Kinsler & Joseph Price, 2017. "Productivity Spillovers in Team Production: Evidence from Professional Basketball," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 191-225.
    5. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2003. "Cluster-Sample Methods in Applied Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 133-138, May.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Arai, Natsuki & 荒井, 夏來 & Nakazawa, Nobuhiko & 中澤, 伸彦, 2021. "Does Working with a Future Executive Make Junior Employees More Likely to Be Promoted ?," Discussion Papers 2021-01, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.
    2. Battiston, Diego Ezequiel & Blanes I Vidal, Jordi & Kirchmaier, Tom & Szemeredi, Katalin, 2023. "Peer pressure and manager pressure in organisations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121319, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Lasse Brune & Eric Chyn & Jason Kerwin, 2022. "Peers and Motivation at Work: Evidence from a Firm Experiment in Malawi," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(4), pages 1147-1177.
    4. Li, Sherry Xin & Wang, Shengzhe & Yang, Shuo, 2023. "What is in Local Dialects? A Field Experiment on Social Distance and Human Capital Development in Job Training," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    5. Lukas Kiessling & Jonas Radbruch & Sebastian Schaube, 2022. "Self-Selection of Peers and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 8184-8201, November.
    6. Stephen F. Hamilton & Timothy J. Richards & Aric P. Shafran & Kathryn N. Vasilaky, 2022. "Farm labor productivity and the impact of mechanization," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(4), pages 1435-1459, August.
    7. Joseph Kuehn & Filippo Rebessi, 2023. "The Importance of Team Fit for NBA Rookies’ Career Earnings," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 24(3), pages 285-309, April.
    8. Martin Chegere & Paolo Falco & Andreas Menzel, 2023. "Social Ties at Work and Effort Choice: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp763, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    9. Ben Weidmann & David J. Deming, 2020. "Team Players: How Social Skills Improve Group Performance," NBER Working Papers 27071, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Berlinski, Samuel & Ramos, Alejandra, 2020. "Peer effects in the decision to apply for a professional excellence award," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    11. Joseph Kuehn, 2023. "Adjusting for teammate effects in evaluating college prospects for the NBA draft," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 295-314, December.
    12. Hikaru Kawarazaki & Minhaj Mahmud & Yasuyuki Sawada & Mai Seki, 2023. "Haste Makes No Waste: Positive Peer Effects of Classroom Speed Competition on Learning," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 85(4), pages 755-772, August.
    13. Chesney, Alexander J., 2022. "Should I get a master’s degree?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • L66 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Food; Beverages; Cosmetics; Tobacco
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • P23 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population

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