Combatting Social Loafing

Have you ever experienced social loafing? Social loafing occurs during group work when one member exerts little effort but takes the credit. These workers sometimes work best alone. During the holidays, social loafing increases as people check out mentally and focus more on family and winter vacation.

Companies and students can minimize the effect by holding group members accountable and establishing deadlines. All objectives and milestones should be specific, measurable, realistic, and timely, following the acronym SMART. Team members should check in with each other and get status updates.

If one notices a group member slacking, it’s okay to have a conversation. During this time especially, one must consider stress and other factors when talking with one’s colleague. The best thing to do is to find out the reason and try to offer assistance. If the aid is beyond one’s scope, please go to a supervisor or a professor because the person may be struggling and need extra support.

Team or group work can be hard sometimes, but it can also be rewarding. By minimizing social loafing, workers can build their team leadership skills this holiday season.