Working Paper: NBER ID: w22708
Authors: Alexandre Mas; Amanda Pallais
Abstract: We use a field experiment to study how workers value alternative work arrangements. During the application process to staff a national call center, we randomly offered applicants choices between traditional M-F 9 am – 5 pm office positions and alternatives. These alternatives include flexible scheduling, working from home, and positions that give the employer discretion over scheduling. We randomly varied the wage difference between the traditional option and the alternative, allowing us to estimate the entire distribution of willingness to pay (WTP) for these alternatives. We validate our results using a nationally-representative survey. The great majority of workers are not willing to pay for flexible scheduling relative to a traditional schedule: either the ability to choose the days and times of work or the number of hours they work. However, the average worker is willing to give up 20% of wages to avoid a schedule set by an employer on a week’s notice. This largely represents workers’ aversion to evening and weekend work, not scheduling unpredictability. Traditional M-F 9 am – 5 pm schedules are preferred by most jobseekers. Despite the fact that the average worker isn’t willing to pay for scheduling flexibility, a tail of workers with high WTP allows for sizable compensating differentials. Of the worker-friendly options we test, workers are willing to pay the most (8% of wages) for the option of working from home. Women, particularly those with young children, have higher WTP for work from home and to avoid employer scheduling discretion. They are slightly more likely to be in jobs with these amenities, but the differences are not large enough to explain any wage gaps.
Keywords: work arrangements; flexible scheduling; willingness to pay; randomized controlled trial; labor market
JEL Codes: J16; J24; J31; J38; M50
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Job arrangement preferences (J29) | Characteristics of job offers (M51) |
| Job arrangement preferences (J29) | Willingness to pay (WTP) for alternative work arrangements (J33) |
| Scheduling flexibility (J29) | WTP for flexible scheduling options (J29) |
| Employer discretion over scheduling (J29) | WTP for jobs with employer discretion (J39) |
| Employer discretion over scheduling (J29) | Job rejection rate (J63) |
| Working from home (J29) | WTP for working from home (J29) |
| Gender differences in preferences (J16) | WTP for working from home (J29) |
| WTP for flexible arrangements (J33) | Gender wage gaps (J31) |