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The effect of task switching on productivity: evidence from major league baseball pitchers

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: There are few opportunities, outside of a laboratory setting, to study how workers respond to the demands of task switching. A priori, task switching might either harm or benefit productivity, and thus it becomes an empirical question. Faced with difficulties in the measurement of productivity and task switching, we turn to an industry that produces accurate, detailed, and comparable measures of worker production, namely starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. Our results suggest that task switching, between pitching and batting, can improve subsequent pitching performance, though heterogeneity in this effect is present. We discuss implications for wider labour market settings.

Source: Oxford Economic Papers

DOI: 10.1093/oep/gpaf004

Authors: Alex Farnell, Brian Mills, Vincent O’Sullivan, Robert Simmons, David Berri

Institutions: National University of Ireland, Maynooth, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Limerick, Lancaster University, Southern Utah University

Language: English

Topic: Sports Analytics and Performance

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,359