To Each Their Own: Heterogeneity in Worker Preferences for Peer Information

Abstract: Peer information is pervasive in the workplace, but workers differ in whether and why they value such information. We develop a portable, theory-driven methodology to study heterogeneity in information preferences and the underlying mechanisms. In a real-effort experiment with 793 workers, we elicit willingness-to-pay for peer information delivered either before or after a task. We identify four worker types (indifferent, stress-avoidant, competitive, and learning-oriented) whose effort responses align with theoretical predictions. Workers' stated motivations in free-text responses strongly correlate with their revealed preferences and behavior, validating our classification. Notably, a nontrivial share (15%) strictly prefers to avoid information ex ante due to stress and exhibit no productivity gains from it. Tailoring the timing of information by worker type improves welfare by up to 48% relative to a uniform policy.