Truth 41. 2 + 2 Doesn’t Necessarily Equal 4

Proponents of teams frequently say that one of the reasons business firms should organize around teams is that they create positive synergy. That is, the cumulative productivity output of a team is greater than would occur if individual members had worked alone because the sense of team spirit spurs individual effort. So 2 + 2 can equal 5. The truth is that teams often create negative synergy. Some individuals expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually, so 2 + 2 can equal 3! The reason for this negative outcome? It’s called social loafing.

In the late 1920s, a German psychologist named Max Ringelmann compared the results of individual and group performance on a rope-pulling task. He expected that the group’s effort would be equal to the sum of the efforts of individuals within the group. For instance, three people pulling together should exert three times as much pull on the rope as one person, and eight people should exert eight times as much pull. Ringelmann’s results, however, didn’t confirm his expectations. Groups of three people exerted a force only two-and-a-half times the average individual performance. Groups of eight collectively achieved less than four times the solo rate.

Replications of Ringelmann’s research with similar tasks have generally supported his findings: Increases in group size are inversely related to individual performance. More may be better in the sense that the total productivity of a group of four is greater than that of one or two people, but the individual productivity of each group member declines.

What causes this social loafing effect? It may be due to a belief that others in the group are not carrying their fair share. If you see others as lazy or inept, you can re-establish equity by reducing your effort. Another explanation is dispersion of responsibility. Because the results of the group cannot be attributed to any single person, the relationship between an individual’s input and the group’s output is clouded. In such situations, individuals may be tempted to become “free riders” and coast on the group’s efforts. In other words, there will be a reduction in efficiency where individuals think that their contribution cannot be measured. Almost anyone who has been required to be part of a group project in school has typically seen the free-rider effect when all members of the project group share in a common grade. One or more group members will frequently contribute little and hide behind the hard work of others.

What are the implications of social loafing for the design of work teams? Where you use teams to enhance morale or improve coordination, you need to provide means for identifying and measuring individual efforts of members as well as the overall team’s performance. If this isn’t done, you have to weigh the potential losses in productivity from using groups against any possible gains in worker satisfaction.