On-the-job tasks and performance pay: A vacancy-level analysis

Abstract

Drawing on a dataset of job openings posted at an online job board, we find that an employer is less likely to offer performance-based pay when a job entails multitasking, quality provision, or team work. This finding is consistent with a multitasking prediction: at jobs where it is more difficult to measure a worker's performance at some tasks than at others weaker incentives ensure that the worker allocates his effort to every task the worker was hired to perform. While the identified negative associations persist when we consider different forms of performance pay, the evidence is less convincing in a sample of jobs that entail multitasking or non-sales jobs. © by Cornell University.