TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Corgnet, Brice
AU  - Gächter, Simon
AU  - González, Roberto Hernán
        TI  - Working Too Much for Too Little: Stochastic Rewards Cause Work Addiction
        PY  - 2020/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 12992
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp12992
        AB  - People are generally assumed to shy away from activities generating stochastic rewards, thus requiring extra compensation for handling any additional risk. In contrast with this view, neuroscience research with animals has shown that stochastic rewards may act as a powerful motivator. Applying these ideas to the study of work addiction in humans, and using a new experimental paradigm, we demonstrate how stochastic rewards may lead people to continue working on a repetitive and effortful task even after monetary compensation becomes saliently negligible. In line with our hypotheses, we show that persistence on the work task is especially pronounced when the entropy of stochastic rewards is high, which is also when the work task generates more stress to participants. We discuss the economic and managerial implications of our findings.
        KW  - occupational health
KW  - work addiction
KW  - incentives
KW  - experiments
        ER  -