THE BENEFITS OF USING A COMPUTER AT WORK
The typical user of computers and information technology (IT) at work is educated,
young and female. She is likelier to work in a large than small company, and has more
control over her job than her non-IT using peers. These are among the findings of
research by Peter Dolton and Panu Pelkonen, which has looked at the incidence of
computer use in the workplace and whether it boosts employees’ earnings.
The study also finds that when observable worker characteristic such as age and
education, workplace and occupation are taken into account, workers who use a
computer earn between 2.6% and 10% more. The return to computer use is higher for
men than women: for men it is 5-11%, while for women it is 0-7%.
Computers and IT have changed the way we live and work. The latest Workplace and
Employment Relations Survey 2004 (WERS) provides a snapshot of how using IT at
the workplace has changed working lives in the UK. The study uses this data to provide
a description of how IT is used in firms and assesses the return to earnings generated
by the use of this technology.
Various studies have suggested that the use of a computer at work has boosted
earnings by as much as 15-20%. Others suggest that the effect is negligible. This study
seeks to clarify the differences in these estimates using the excellent WERS data. The
researchers find that:

The typical IT user is educated, young and female. She is likelier to work in a
large than small company, and has more control over her job than her non-IT
using peers.

On average, IT users work 3 hours longer weeks than non-IT users, and do not
report higher job satisfaction than their peers without the technology.

The most common uses of computers are e-mail (59% of workers), word
processing (56%), data entry (45%) and record keeping (44%).

Computer use is most prevalent in financial services, where 99% use it. The
lowest level is in hotels and restaurants, where 40% use computers.

The professions in general are divided into those where IT use is very common,
and to those where it is rather uncommon. The professions with highest rates of
computer use are among accountants, lawyers, civil servants, and policemen,
100% of whom use computers.

Some of the lowest rates of computer use are among cleaners (10%),
electricians (26%) and drivers (28%).

If individual characteristics and occupation are disregarded, IT users earn on
average £10.80 per hour, while those who do not use IT earn £7.30 per hour.

Controlling for a person's characteristics and where they work, then the results
show that computer use boosts earnings and it does so irrespective of the
worker's workplace, occupation or industry.

When observable worker characteristic such as age and education, workplace
and occupation are taken into account, workers who use a computer earn
between 2.6-10% more. This is likely to be explained by the fact that workers
with better computer skills land in computer-related jobs, and the difference in
pay reflects such skills.

The return to computer use is higher for men than women; for men it is 5-11%,
while for women it is 0-7%.
ENDS
Notes for editors: ‘The Incidence and Impact of Computer Use: Evidence from WERS
2004’ by Peter Dolton and Panu Pelkonen was presented at the Royal Economic
Society’s 2007 Annual Conference at the University of Warwick, 11-13 April.
Peter Dolton is at Royal Holloway College, University of London, and the Centre for
Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics. Panu Pelkonen is
at CEP.
For further information: contact Peter Dolton on 01784-443378 (email:
peter.dolton@rhul.ac.uk); or Romesh Vaitilingam on 07768-661095 (email:
romesh@compuserve.com).