Effort, Identity, and Employee Mental Health

Why do workers exert effort at their tasks and what are the implications for their well-being when greater effort is necessary? This paper, which studies university employees during the Covid-19 pandemic, provides empirical evidence that identity – in terms of both the importance of work to employees’ sense of self and the extent to which their employer shares their values – is related to both effort and productivity. Those employees who feel work is important to them and feel the university does not share their values report exerting more effort but accomplishing less, relative to a pre-pandemic benchmark. Furthermore, all these factors are associated with employee’s reported mental health. Stress and anxiety are particularly elevated for employees for whom work is important and who feel the employer does not share their values, with similar patterns for depression symptoms and worse overall mental health relative to pre-pandemic. These relationships hold across job roles (faculty vs. staff) and the number of co-resident children. The research suggests a new direction in the study of incentives and organizations: links between non-pecuniary motivations and work-related mental health.