For Better Teamwork, Persist and Learn

"Teamwork can be challenging. Teams often need to overcome an inherent inertia, which operates almost like an iron law of groups. The inherent inertia we refer to here is social loafing- the behavioral tendency, and powerful lure, for an individual to contribute less effort than other members of their team. Social loafing is a common dysfunction of teams. It can lead to a downward spiral of distrust, lowered morale, and low team cohesion and performance."

"It may bottom out in a grinding, halting inertia and the failure of a group to move, collaborate, cooperate. It's a problem that recurs again and again. But there is hope. A recent study by Gabelica, De Maeyer, and Schippers (2022) highlights a key dynamic that may arise when we persist in our teamwork efforts. Notably, the researchers argue that social loafing is not a static phenomenon but can change over time. In particular, it can change as a consequence of team learning."

"Previous studies highlighted different ways to combat social loafing: Improve task management and reward; increase team familiarity and the identifiability of team members; decrease team size; build cohesion; and foster a mastery orientation within individual team members. Gabelica, De Maeyer, and Schippers posit a different way: They argue that by increasing team learning teams generally develop strategies to reduce social loafing."

Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to exert less effort in groups, creating an inertia that undermines collaboration, trust, morale, cohesion, and performance. Social loafing can trigger downward spirals that halt team progress and lead to chronic dysfunction. Common countermeasures include improving task management and rewards, increasing team familiarity and identifiability, reducing team size, building cohesion, and fostering mastery orientation. Increasing team learning leads to development of strategies that reduce social loafing. Longitudinal evidence from 195 three- and four-person teams totaling 675 business students over a year showed that increases in team learning corresponded with decreases in social loafing.

Read at Psychology Today