The effects of an anonymous worker-management communication tool on workplace outcomes and worker wellbeing

Last registered on November 30, 2018
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The effects of an anonymous worker-management communication tool on workplace outcomes and worker wellbeing
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003311
Initial registration date
November 28, 2018

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 30, 2018, 10:15 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Faridabad

Primary Investigator

Name
Achyuta Adhvaryu
Affiliation
University of Michigan
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2018-08-23
End date
2019-12-31
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We have formed a research partnership with Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd, one of the largest garment manufacturers in India, wherein the firm plans to implement a worker voice tool in its two factory units. This tool aims to make it easier for workers to register any complaints that they might have at the workplace. This is a pilot study, lasting 6 months, by which the firm wishes to understand the productivity, retention, and job satisfaction consequences of this change by randomly giving half of the workers access to use this new technology. It also wants to explore interventions that will lead to an improved usage of such a technology. For the latter, we have proposed a short training on the benefit and scope of the tool and regular reminders (via SMS) encouraging the workers to use the tool. We will do an impact evaluation of introducing such worker voice tool on workplace outcomes (productivity, retention, attendance), worker engagement, general mental health (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale) and job satisfaction outcomes. Workers who don’t own a phone/smart phone will also be a part of the study and can use the phone line though a phone belonging to friends or family.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Adhvaryu, Achyuta. 2018. "The effects of an anonymous worker-management communication tool on workplace outcomes and worker wellbeing." AEA RCT Registry. November 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3311-1.0
Former Citation
Adhvaryu, Achyuta. 2018. "The effects of an anonymous worker-management communication tool on workplace outcomes and worker wellbeing." AEA RCT Registry. November 30. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3311/history/38087
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2018-10-01
Intervention End Date
2019-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Through this pilot, we want to study productivity, retention, and job satisfaction consequences of introducing a worker voice tool that will allow workers to hand in any workplace related complaints anonymously to the management. We also want to explore and test interventions that will lead to an improved usage of such a technology.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In this project, we are working with a sample of 7555 workers employed in 2 factory units in Faridabad, India. Our proposed project registers half of the workers in the respective 2 factories to the worker voice tool in a random manner to generate an exogenous variation in the usage of the tool. This pool of the registered workers to the tool will be the treatment group.
We will administer baseline and endline surveys to collect measures of on general mental health, job satisfaction, and grievance redressal. We will also collect the administrative data from the firm to study any impact on the workplace outcomes.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The randomization in this study will be accomplished using Stata's random number generator.
Randomization Unit
Randomization will be done at the individual worker level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
7555 workers
Sample size: planned number of observations
7555 workers
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
3752 treatment workers and 3803 control workers
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2018-11-16
IRB Approval Number
HUM00149230
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials