Social laziness is a phenomenon where individuals exert less effort in a group than they would individually. It occurs due to the anonymity and lack of recognition in a group. Group leaders can counteract this by identifying slackers, offering incentives, monitoring individual performance, and removing loafers. Social laziness is more common in Western cultures and among men.
Working in groups has many advantages over working individually, but one disadvantage of working collectively is a phenomenon known as social laziness. This occurs whenever a member of a group feels compelled or entitled to exert less effort than she would have exerted as an individual. For example, an individual singing “Happy Birthday” to a colleague may sing loudly, but that same person will sing much softer within a group. This phenomenon is often the result of individuals relaxing within the more anonymous confines of a group, especially when individual effort is not measured or recognized.
Social laziness is not necessarily the same as laziness or a lack of enthusiasm for the task at hand. For many people assigned to a group project, however, motivation comes from the recognition of personal efforts or achievements, not the collective results of a group effort. If it becomes possible to slip through the cracks or lose individual identity within a group, some loafers will take full advantage of the anonymity and put in only minimal effort. Once other group members begin to notice a lack of attention on individuals, then they too will begin to exert less and less effort.
The effects of social sloth on group dynamics were first observed during an early 20th century experiment involving volunteer bell ringers. The experimenters first asked individual men to pull a bell rope as hard as possible. Their individual efforts were measured and recorded on a graph. The experimenters then asked the entire group of volunteers to pull strings arranged in series. Each man exerted considerably less individual effort when he worked within a group. When individual success was no longer an issue, social laziness took effect.
This phenomenon can be observed in any number of group situations. Individual singers in a choir often sing louder for a choir leader than they would as a group. An individual student may recite the pledge of allegiance aloud, but a group of students often mumble the same pledge incoherently. An individual may clap loudly for an artist, but clap much softer in an audience of thousands. Social sloth is often triggered by a sense of relaxation or security within a group. If the activity is clearly group-oriented, individuals within that group no longer feel motivated to stand out or exert their best effort.
There are several ways a group leader can counteract the effects of social laziness within a group. He or she can identify individual slackers and privately encourage them to increase their efforts for the good of the larger group. A tangible reward or incentive to improve a team’s performance can also give individual members a reason to work harder. Giving the impression that individual performance or effort is actually being monitored or observed can also counteract the negative effects of social laziness. If there is still a problem with some loafers, a party leader may need to remove them from the team to get the most out of other members.
There is some evidence that social laziness is more common among men than women in general, and that Western cultures experience it more often than Eastern cultures, mainly due to a different focus on individual versus group outcomes. It is nearly impossible to eliminate all traces of this phenomenon within any group or team, but a group leader can work to increase individual recognition and motivation within a collective group with a common purpose.
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