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Recovery from Work and the Productivity of Working Hours

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  • Pencavel, John H.

    (Stanford University)

Abstract

Observations on munition workers are organized to examine the relationship between their output each week, their working hours and days each week, and their working hours and days in adjacent weeks. The hypothesis is that workers need to recover from work and a long working week results in greater fatigue and stress and yet provides insufficient time for recuperation before the next week's work opens. Workers require time off the job to restore their physical, mental, and emotional capacities and, if a long working week provides inadequate time to repair, their subsequent work performance suffers.

Suggested Citation

  • Pencavel, John H., 2016. "Recovery from Work and the Productivity of Working Hours," IZA Discussion Papers 10103, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:ilo:ilowps:470847 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Golden, Lonnie., 2012. "The effects of working time on productivity and firm performance : a research synthesis paper," ILO Working Papers 994708473402676, International Labour Organization.
    3. John Pencavel, 2015. "The Productivity of Working Hours," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 2052-2076, December.
    4. Nyland,Chris, 1989. "Reduced Worktime and the Management of Production," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521345477.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Lukács, Bence & Antal, Miklós, 2023. "The practical feasibility of working time reduction: Do we have sufficient data?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    3. Jed DeVaro, 2022. "Performance pay, working hours, and health‐related absenteeism," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 327-352, October.
    4. 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.
    5. Collewet, Marion & Sauermann, Jan, 2017. "Working hours and productivity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 96-106.
    6. Della Giusta, Marina & Jewell, Sarah, 2018. "Working for nothing: personality, time allocation and earnings in the UK," MPRA Paper 91481, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Argyro Avgoustaki & Hans T. W. Frankort, 2019. "Implications of Work Effort and Discretion for Employee Well-Being and Career-Related Outcomes: An Integrative Assessment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 636-661, May.
    8. DeVaro, Jed & Kim, Jin-Hyuk & Wagman, Liad & Wolff, Ran, 2018. "Motivation and performance of user-contributors: Evidence from a CQA forum," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 56-65.
    9. DeVaro, Jed, 2024. "Work Schedules," IZA Discussion Papers 17061, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    working hours; output; productivity; recovery;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-

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