{"id":503,"date":"2021-10-07T09:07:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T09:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/?p=503"},"modified":"2022-01-04T17:52:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-04T17:52:26","slug":"social-loafing-causes-and-how-to-avoid-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/social-loafing-causes-and-how-to-avoid-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Tired of Slackers at Work? The Secrets Behind Social Loafing: and What to Do About it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever shown up to a potluck with a liter of soda and a bag of chips, then helped yourself to a plateful of baby back ribs? Or participated in a book group discussion without having read the book?<\/p>\n

If we’re honest, we do things like this every day. These are examples of a phenomenon called social loafing.<\/p>\n

What is social loafing, exactly? University of Washington management professor Michael Johnson<\/a> defines it as:<\/p>\n

\u201cA phenomenon where people exert less effort when working in groups than they do when working alone. In general, the greater the number of people who are working on a group task, the less effort any one member of the group will put forth toward accomplishing the task. We’ve probably all worked with people who free-ride on the work of others, but the interesting thing about social loafing is that virtually everyone does it to some extent.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Johnson points out that as a group size grows, so does the productivity output of each individual.<\/p>\n

Social loafing comes with a cost. It reduces the productivity and potential of a group, and creates animosity in the workplace.<\/p>\n

Whether you’re a project manager or working with a team, fortunately there’s a lot you can do to minimize social loafing in your work environment.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at the history of social loafing, break down what causes it, and look at ways both managers and team members can keep it in check.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The Ringelmann Effect<\/span><\/h2>\n

In France in the late 1800s, agricultural professor Max Ringelmann happened upon an insightful discovery. He measured the power of one ox pulling a cart, and of two oxen pulling the cart together. When pulling together, each ox pulled with slightly less power than when they pulled individually.<\/p>\n

Ringelmann then performed a similar study on humans pulling ropes, and discovered the same pattern. When two people pulled together, each person pulled with 93% of the power they exerted when pulling the rope individually. When three pulled, this output decreased to 85%. A group of 8 pulled at only 49%: individual output decreased by more than a half!<\/p>\n

What does this discovery mean for you and me? Well, if you’re working with a small company and feel burnt out, then obviously it’s time to move to a bigger team!<\/p>\n

Ha ha, but seriously. This discovery of what’s now known as \u201csocial loafing\u201d, or \u201cThe Ringelmann Effect\u201d has been widely studied and identified in all areas of life: in audiences, for example, people will clap loudly when there’s a small audience, but more softly as the size of the audience grows.<\/p>\n

It’s very real and a part of our everyday life.<\/p>\n

\"Causes<\/p>\n

<\/span>Causes of Social Loafing<\/span><\/h2>\n

What causes this dramatic decline in output as group sizes increase? Ringelmann determined social loafing is caused by two main reasons: a loss of motivation, and a loss of coordination within a group as the numbers increase.<\/p>\n