Get to know the psychology behind why some people take the driving seat and do their fair share of work in groups, while others take a back seat
You might not have heard of the term before, but it’s more than likely you’ve crossed paths with a ‘social loafer’ at some point. It’s a way of describing the person in a group who exerts the least effort towards a shared goal – even if, normally, they’re a hard worker on their own.
Research into this social psychology concept began with rope-pulling experiments in 1913 by Max Ringelmann, a French professor of agricultural engineering. He saw that members of a group would exert less effort in pulling a rope than when individuals did it.
Cross-disciplinary interest in the idea has boomed since then, particularly in the late 20th century and into the 00s, making it a firmly recognisable concept today that we can apply to work settings, as well as friendship groups, and even in relationships at home. So, when you pick up on a social loafer, how can you navigate this tension-infused habit?
1. Understand ‘deindividuation’
It’s undoubtedly frustrating to feel like the responsibility and effort always seems to fall to you – or that a particular individual has a habit of taking a backseat and contributing in minimal ways – but it can help to recognise the psychological state behind a social loafer’s behaviour.
‘Deindividuation’ refers to when individuals lose their self-awareness, sense of identity, and accountability when they’re in a group. This might present on a larger scale, such as in crowds at big gatherings where people follow along in ways they may not usually do, or evidenced in the ‘bystander effect’, where having a lot of people present seems to diminish a feeling of individual responsibility.
Smaller-scale examples could include in friendship groups, where someone may not step up to the task of making decisions, organising events or group catch-ups, and defaults to letting someone else put in the cognitive effort, even though they are more than capable of contributing. Understanding that there is real, psychological science behind social loafing can help give you some context to why someone could be behaving in a particular way, rather than taking it as a personal slight.
2. Help them find a sense of motivation
In a meta-analytic review into social loafing, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers established that there are two factors that drive an individual’s motivation (and therefore, whether they will resort to social loafing). They are: the individual’s expectations about achieving the goal; and the perceived value of the goal. With this in mind, if there’s someone in your life who has a tendency towards social loafing, making a point of highlighting the goal of what you want to achieve together – be it a work project, or organising a surprise party – could be a way of getting through to them.
3. Set the tone
Our energy is contagious, and that goes for both the highs and the lows. In the review into social loafing mentioned before, it was also proposed that if someone feels as though others in the group are slacking off, they will also lower their effort to match. So keeping the enthusiasm up, and demonstrating your own commitment to achieving the shared goal, could be the key to motivating your social loafer to meet you at the same level.
4. The three Cs of motivation
If leading by example isn’t enough, you could turn to the ‘three Cs of motivation’. These are competence, choice, and connection, and are a popular resource first proposed in the book Work Motivation: Past, Present and Future. Competence refers to feeling capable and effective in your actions; choice is about having control over your actions; and connection is about feeling supported by others.
In a workplace, this could be achieved through giving the individual more freedom with their responsibilities, while also being there to support them. But in a friendship group or social situation, this could look a little different. You might want to spend time reassuring them of their value in the group, noticing and complimenting the things that they do, and taking time to understand the things that they enjoy and take pride in. For example, if you’re planning a party and they’ve got an eye for colours, could they pick out the decorations, rather than deal with the guest list?
5. Get honest about how it’s impacting you
While we’ve explored several ways to combat social loafing, the truth is that feeling as though someone isn’t taking their fair share of the responsibility can be frustrating and hurtful. And if someone’s actions are having an impact on you, before you try to work with them, it’s always worth taking the time to be honest about how you’re feeling.
After all, the psychology of social loafing tells us that this behaviour often stems from a sense of disconnection. So, use this as a prompt to tune-in to one another, reconnect, and get honest about what you need. When we’re all putting in effort, the load gets a lot lighter for everyone.
