What Is Social Loafing?
Social loafing is the tendency of people to put in less effort when they’re part of a group. It’s also called the Ringelmann effect, named after French agricultural engineer Maximilien Ringelmann, who observed this phenomenon in 1913. According to the American Psychological Association, Ringelmann “found that groups often outperform individuals but that the addition of each new member to a group yields less of a gain in productivity.” A group of researchers then recreated his experiments in 1974, coining the term “social loafing” to explain the phenomenon. Many factors contribute to social loafing, and there are also some elements that may prevent or reduce it. We’ll explore some of these here.
Causes of social loafing
Over the years, researchers have identified several factors that may contribute to the phenomenon of social loafing, including the following.
Comparisons to others in the group
Social psychology research has suggested that people with low expectations of how hard their group members will work reduce their own efforts. One of the first studies on this topic, published not long after the term “social loafing” was coined, looked at groups of four people taking on brainstorming tasks. Some participants believed the results were only being recorded as a group, while others believed their individual efforts were being recorded. Those who knew their work was individually identifiable worked harder than those whose output was pooled.
However, this difference only emerged when individual members believed that their outputs could be compared to the outputs of their group members. When they believed their output was not being compared to others in the group, they performed the same as the pooled group. In other words, group members performed better when they knew their performance was being compared to that of others. This result also suggests that people may believe they can hide in the crowd, have less individual accountability when working in a group, and not need to give their best effort in such situations.
Diffusion of responsibility
Diffusion of responsibility is the idea that people feel less responsible for the consequences of their actions in the presence of others. If people interpret that their efforts will have little impact on the overall outcome, they may be less likely to help. This same idea is used to explain the bystander effect, which is when people don’t offer help to someone if there are other people around.
Group size
In smaller groups, people may perceive that their efforts are more important to the group’s success, which can cause them to work harder. Plus, smaller groups make it easier to compare group members to one another, which may encourage people to give their best effort.
Motivation for the task
Sometimes, social loafing can happen when people are not motivated by the task at hand, whether one group member lacks motivation or everyone on the team experiences a similar lack of motivation. If someone is not motivated by the work they are asked to do, they may be more likely to slack off when they believe that the other people will step up to complete the group’s work.
Expectations of other group members
If there are overachievers in the group, they may take the lead. In this case, someone not as motivated by the task may sit back and let others do the work. Or, some people may expect others in the group to slack off, which can encourage them to do the same because they don’t want to get stuck with all the work themselves.
Explaining the mechanisms behind social loafing
Research suggests several factors that may encourage or discourage social loafing. For example, some studies have shown that when people in a group know their individual effort will be measured, they may be more likely to put forth effort. But how can social loafing be discouraged when it’s not always possible to measure individual contributions?
Some studies suggest that when people are given a difficult or interesting task, they work on it just as hard whether they’re doing it alone or in a group setting. These researchers also found that when someone is given a task at which they are very skilled or know a lot about, social loafing is often reduced as well.
Another factor that may reduce social loafing is having each team member see their contribution as unique. If individuals believe that no other group member could contribute in the same way, social loafing may be reduced and people may be more motivated to put forth extra effort on their own tasks.
Group dynamics can also discourage social loafing. When the team works well together and depends on one another to complete the task, it can cause internal pressure that encourages team members to put forth effort.
Studies have shown that there may be other ways to discourage social loafing too, including:
- Comparing self-evaluation to a social standard or an objective standard
- Getting feedback on improved performance
- Increasing involvement and accountability in the task
- Rewarding desirable behavior instead of punishing undesirable behavior
- Setting goals
- Designating a leader and incentivizing them to get the group to perform
How social loafing can affect the workplace
Any time people have to work together and someone does not perform as they are expected to, tensions can arise. The people doing the work may start to feel exploited, and group performance may be affected. This behavior can lead to many issues with in-person or online groups in the workplace, including:
- Decreased productivity
- Less attention to detail
- Resentment and frustration between coworkers
- Decreased motivation for future collaborative work
- Burnout for those who are carrying the weight of group projects
- High turnover rates
How to avoid social loafing
If you’re prone to social loafing, being honest with yourself about it can allow you to take the necessary steps to correct it. Correcting it may help you form stronger bonds with classmates and coworkers and perform better at school or work.
One factor that commonly contributes to social loafing is a lack of motivation. Everyone experiences a lack of motivation sometimes, but if you find that a persistent or extreme lack of motivation is negatively affecting your life, talking to a therapist may help. Motivation problems can sometimes be a sign of a mental health condition like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Working with a therapist can help you better understand your symptoms and learn how to manage them.
If you’re interested in working with a therapist, you can typically choose between online and in-person sessions, depending on your preference. With online therapy, you can attend sessions from the comfort of your home at a time that works for your schedule—and often for a lower cost than the average in-person session. When you sign up with a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a therapist and then meet with them via phone, video call, and/or in-app messaging from anywhere you have an internet connection.
In addition to being flexible and convenient, online treatment can be effective for treating a variety of mental health conditions. Research suggests that online and in-person therapy can offer comparable outcomes in many cases, so you can typically feel confident in choosing whichever format you prefer.
Takeaway
Social loafing is when someone puts forth less effort when working as part of a group than they might working alone. There are many reasons why social loafing may happen, including comparisons to group members, diffusion of responsibility, group size, and motivation. If you find that you’re experiencing a lack of motivation that’s negatively affecting your life, talking to a mental health professional may help.
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