Social Loafing

Social loafing indicates the tendency of a person to contribute least to the teamwork while they have the potential to do so. For example, in group work or a project one or a few members might put less effort into the project. Instead of assuming or realising their importance in the team and their capability as a performer, they tend to skip things, which are under their control.  

Factors responsible for its occurrence

Out of many responsible factors, three factors are majorly important concerning the occurrence of social loafing. First, people who are a part of a group feel less accountable to their core areas. Moreover, they think less about what others may perceive them. Second, there can be instances of group members thinking that their contribution does not make any difference. Third, when group members do share equally among the team members regardless of how much they contribute, they promote social loafing.

Consequences of social loafing

People those who are an addict of social loafing or are social loaf will certainly miss on opportunities. In the long-term, social loafing will affect their learning capability. They would not have any benefit of being a social loaf in the long-term. For example, any sport whether football or cricket is a team game. If one or a few members are social loafs and are not playing to their potential, they will harm their performance as well as the overall team productivity. Indeed, a cricket match requires all playing eleven to contribute to the winning cause of a team. If somehow they do not get the opportunity to bat or ball, they will at least have the opportunity in the form of fielding. By giving their best to the fielding, they can save a few crucial runs for their teams. On the other hand, if they are not potentially attentive at the playground they would not just give away few runs unnecessarily to the opponent team but may also allow the batting side to capitalise on the opportunity created from dropping a catch.