Job tasks and cognitive skill accumulation

Individuals’ cognitive skills can be improved through learning by doing various tasks at work. We report the results of studying rich information on job tasks performed at the individual level based on three measures of job task complexity: (i) overall job complexity, (ii) analytical task intensity, and (iii) interactive task intensity. Controlling for task selection, we show that both overall job task complexity and analytical tasks can contribute to the development of a worker’s cognitive skills, while interactive tasks play a less significant role. Furthermore, we find that complex job tasks can offset the effect of aging on cognitive functioning. We show the implications of our research results for work design, cognitive interventions, and retirement policies.