When the Tasks Line Up
How the Nature of Supplementary Tasks Affects Worker Productivity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3384125 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Aruna Ranganathan (0000-0003-2110-6798, Aruna Ranganathan is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 556-585 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Industrial and Labor Relations Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0019-7939 • E-ISSN: 2162-271X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00197939221149999 |
| OpenAlex | W4318191303 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 50 |
Jobs consist of bundles of tasks, with most jobs involving one or a few core tasks as well as supplementary tasks. In this article, the author argues that, keeping constant the number of supplementary tasks performed, the nature of these tasks can affect workers' productivity in their core task. The study uses quantitative and qualitative data to study tea pickers at a plantation in India. Using fine-grained personnel data on workers' task assignments and their daily productivity, the author finds that workers' productivity is affected by the extent to which their supplementary tasks are facilitative of their core task, when comparing workers performing the same number of supplementary tasks. Qualitative data suggest that one way in which performing a facilitative rather than a non-facilitative supplementary task could improve core task productivity is by temporarily boosting what the author calls "core task identification." This article contributes to scholarship on the design of work
Boosting (machine learning) · Cognitive psychology · Core (optical fiber) · Economic growth · Economics · Management · Productivity · Scholarship · Task (project management) · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Psychology · Quality and Supply Management
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |