Trends in effort at work in the UK

Abstract This article links detailed 24-h diary surveys in the UK for the last four decades, to provide evidence of an increase in work effort in three specific dimensions: timing, nature, and composition. We rule out certain proposed explanations of these trends, finding that the decrease in the frequency of on-the-job leisure is more pronounced for workers in routine task-intensive occupations. Alternative supply-side and demand-side explanations, such as changes in relative preferences for leisure, or an increase in off-shoring, or competition for jobs, cannot explain our results. Our findings suggest that the amount and frequency of on-the-job leisure can be used as a measure of work effort, and that the routine-biased technological changes experienced during this period lie at the root of the increase in work effort in the UK.