Oswald, A. J., Proto, E., &Sgroi, D. (2015). Happiness and productivity. Journal of Labor Economics, 33(4), 789-822.
Some firms say they care about the well-being and “happiness” of their employees. But are such claims hype or scientific good sense? We provide evidence, for a classic piece rate setting, that happiness makes people more productive. In three different styles of experiment, randomly selected individuals are made happier. The treated individuals have approximately 12% greater productivity. A fourth experiment studies major real-world shocks (bereavement ...