Three Essays in Personnel: Remote Work (with Kids) and Efficiency Wages

Abstract

During the pandemic, more than half of the American workforce started to work from home --- in the largest, sharpest transformation of the labor market since the mobilization for the second world war. One naturally asks whether this transformation will persist after the pandemic and what implications this will have on the the nature of work and work-life balance. The first essay finds that call-center workers are more productive working remotely, but the type of workers who chose remote work before the pandemic were adversely selected. The essay hypothesizes that adverse selection was due to the different penalties and rewards for remote workers, who were both less likely to be fired for low productivity and less likely to be promoted for high productivity than their on-site peers. The second essay investigates how children at home impacts productivity and labor supply when workers are working from home. The third essay documents that higher wages are associated with higher productivity, lower turnover and enhanced recruitment.