Cognitive Performance in the Home Office - Evidence from Professional Chess

Arbeitspapier

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, traditional (offline) chess tournaments were prohibited and instead held online. We exploit this as a unique setting to assess the impact of moving offline tasks online on the cognitive performance of individuals. We use the Artificial Intelligence embodied in a powerful chess engine to assess the quality of chess moves and associated errors. Using within-player comparisons, we find a statistically and economically significant decrease in performance when competing online compared to competing offline. Our results suggest that teleworking might have adverse effects on workers performing cognitive tasks.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 13491

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Crisis Management ; Organization of Production ; Production Management ; Personnel Economics: Labor Management
• Subject: productivity ; teleworking ; chess ; COVID-19

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Künn, Steffen ; Seel, Christian ; Zegners, Dainis
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2020

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/223933
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET