It's Raining, It's Pouring, the Inspector is Snoring: Task Selection in Varying Work Environments

Workers often have discretion over their schedules and the tasks they perform. One factor likely to influence a worker’s scheduling decision is the work environment – some environments are better than others. We study how workers change their productive output and select different tasks as the desirability of the work environment changes. We pair longitudinal data from more than 16 million inspections conducted by roadside inspectors across the continental United States with weather data at the time of inspection. We find that inspectors reduce their output in bad weather – up to 16.2% on unusually cold days, and more in the rain and snow. Inspectors are more likely to choose tasks with less exposure to the weather on days with bad weather, and find fewer violations per inspection. Consistent with prior research, inspectors find fewer violations as they grow fatigued; they also select easier tasks. This research has implications for job design, inspection bias, and transportation safety.