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High levels of air pollution reduce team performance

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Probst, B 
Gsottbauer, E 
Kontoleon, A 

Abstract

Teams play a key role in tackling complex societal challenges, such as developing vaccines or novel clean energy technologies. Yet, the effect of air pollution on team performance in nonroutine problem-solving tasks is not well explored. Here, we document a sizable adverse effect of air pollution on team performance using data from 15,000 live escape games in London, United Kingdom. On high-pollution days, teams take on average 5% more time to solve a sequence of non-routine analytical tasks, which require collaborative skills analogous to those needed in the modern workplace. Negative effects are non-linear and only occur at high levels of air pollution, which are however commonplace in many developing countries. As team efforts predominantly drive innovation, high levels of air pollution may significantly hamper economic development.

Description

Keywords

38 Economics, 4407 Policy and Administration, 44 Human Society, Climate-Related Exposures and Conditions

Journal Title

Journal of Economic Psychology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0167-4870
1872-7719

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier