We start 2021 by introducing a new format! In PPA videos, leading professionals from various industries and top researchers in the field of Personnel Economics share their insights about the emerging issues in HR. The first PPA video reflects on one of the widely discussed HR topics in 2020: Work from home. Work from home has been on the minds of many for long, even before the pandemic. However, the share of employees working from home had remained low. The pandemic served

Increased digitization of the labor market combined with the changing demand for skill has altered the job-search process. A survey study finds that nearly 18 percent of all employed workers in the US were hired into their present company by the active recruiting effort of their employer. Especially small firms and firms relying on high-skilled labor, are increasingly developing capabilities to better hunt for talent. The study provides relevant implications for both firms an

A theoretical study shows that over-investment into liquidity-generating capital can increase the value of a company in volatile market conditions by making it easier to motivate the company’s workforce. The findings of the study have implications for the optimal design of incentives and management practices in companies in times of crisis. Over-investment - An Agency Problem A prominent fact in corporate finance is that managers tend to over-invest, i.e. marginal costs excee

In a recent study, the researchers Marvin Deversi, Florian Englmaier, and Andreas Roider evaluate the home office experience of employees in two surveys with Dax30 companies. They find that although employees have the support they need to work productively from home, work satisfaction and perceived productivity during the crisis have fallen. While there exists an overall preference for a future extension of working from home among employees, some of them fear a deterioration

In a recent study, the behavioral economists Marvin Deversi, Martin G. Kocher, and Christiane Schwieren analyze the cooperative culture in a large software firm. They conduct behavioral experiments with employees of the firm to elicit a unique measure of their cooperativeness. Linking data from the experiments with HR data from the firm’s records allows the researchers to study how the firm’s management practices relate to the cooperativeness of employees. Their study is a li

The Coronavirus crisis has induced many firms to expand the home office solutions for their employees and to switch to digital collaboration tools. A new study presents the latest insights on the spread and acceptance of digitalization in Germany. As the efforts to limit the number of new infections require social distancing and the shutdown of many aspects of regular social and business life, digitalization has gained increasing importance. Video conferences and digital coll

For a long Easter weekend, we selected several academic papers and podcasts, which provide evidence on the evolution of work practices and discuss how the COVID-19 may influence the future of work. Home Office during the Corona pandemic: Unused potential for many jobs in Germany Researchers from ZEW Mannheim and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) analyse data from the Linked Personnel Panel surveys, which target private sector companies with at least 50 employees. Th

In this post, we will collect the relevant resources, which offer useful tips on how to facilitate remote work and manage teams. This post will be regularly updated. Have you spotted an interesting article? Let us know in the comments. General The Harvard Business Review has unlocked its special coverage on coronavirus for free. Checkout the most popular articles related to HR. 👉8 Questions employers should ask about coronavirus 👉Lead your business through the coronavirus c

Digital tools for remote work

Which skills are necessary for remote work?

As many firms are currently switching to remote work, keeping up effective knowledge sharing within a firm should be managers' priority.

What is the causal impact of working from home on worker performance?

[Poll] COVID-19 and Home office arrangements

[Poll] COVID-19: Which workforce practices have been affected?

We invite you to leverage the PPA platform to share ideas and solutions in order to most effectively learn from the current situation.