SOCIAL LOAFING : Who's Best At Doing LEAST

Social loafing is defined as team members expending less effort when becoming part of a project group vs. working on their own. Social loafing is common and caused by a number of factors:

Who's Best At Doing Least

- Group Size: the more people assigned to a project the easier it is to slack-off and let others
   carry the load.

- Goal Achieveability: believe group's goal is not achieveable and effort futile.

- Goal Value: no meaning attached to effort expended.

- Goal Low-Balling: if goal is easily achieved and only requires a minimum of effort.

-  Skill Set Deficits: don't have the skills required so let others do the work.

-  Sucker Bet: seeing others loaf and does not want to become the work-sucker for the group.

To prevent loafing from occurring, management must do the following:

- Keep the Project/Task Groups small in number of members - there is no place to hide.

- Assign Accountability: give a specific task to each member of the group. This is key to motivation
   and group success.

- Clear Objectives: specific, quantifiable, and easy to measure goals prevent loafing

- Skills Match-up: ensure group members have the skills to achieve the goals.

- Feedback Loop: have each group member present their progress to the rest of the group at       predetermined intervals and incorporate feedback sessions with total group involvement.

Team members aren't always equal in terms of effort expended and social loafing is very detrimental to achieving success and minimizing the time to complete a project.  Be on the look-out for loafers.

Fund-House Hint: if necessary have group members participate in a peer evaluation process.


Stay in touch,
Jim Lavorato, Principal
Fund-House Ventures, LLC