Smart-Working: Work Flexibility Without Constraints
115 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2020
Date Written: 2020
Abstract
Does removing the constraints of time and place of work increase the utility of workers and firms? We design a randomized experiment on a sample of workers in a large Italian company: workers are randomly divided into a treated group that engages in flexible space and time job (which we call "smart-working") one day per week for 9 months and a control group that continues to work traditionally. By comparing the treated and control workers, we find causal evidence that the flexibility of smart-working increases the productivity of workers and improves their well-being and work-life balance. We also observe that the effects are stronger for women and that there are no significant spillover effects within workers of a team.
Keywords: randomized control trial, productivity, work-life balance, well-being
JEL Classification: J160, J220, J240, L200, M540
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation