It describes the fact that we tend to make fewer contributions when we are in a group versus when we work alone (or are solely charged with the responsibility). When a number of people could take it upon themselves to repair something, social loafing says a high percentage of them will assume that someone else will take the initiative to complete the task.

Social Loafing

Teamwork

<ul><li>Social loafing is influenced by the quality of the relationships between co-workers: where there is group cohesiveness, social loafing isn't really that strong.</li><li>Social loafing is also influences by the size of the group: bigger groups dictate less individual effort. So if you're in a big company, you tend to believe that surely there must be someone else that will solve a specific problem.</li></ul>

What Causes Social Loafing

Reducing social loafing tendency and increasing contributions among your team comes down to trust. So find people you trust and then give them the ability to make decisions.And sometimes it's important to give people the option to not take action if that’s what they think is the right course.

Get Rid Of Social Loafing

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<img src="https://blog.trello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dont_do_nothing-1024x512.jpg?width=1024&amp;name=dont_do_nothing-1024x512.jpg">Be honest: there have been times when you noticed the printer was broken, audibly sighed, pressed a few buttons, then slowly walked away, effectively washing your hands of that pesky problem. It's okay, we've all done it. No one likes making the effort to fix the printer. But what if, in reality, you are the only individual who has noticed this problem, and you didn't do anything about it? What if you never report it, the task never gets done, and the poor sap that's about to do an important demo can't print their notes just minutes before their meeting? Yikes, a simple task to fix a broken printer creates quite the effect.
<h2>What Is Social Loafing? </h2>
<a href="http://psychology.about.com/od/sindex/g/socialloafing.htm">Social loafing </a>is the social psychology phenomenon of low performance and reduced productivity. 
It's the effect of an individual making fewer contributions to a group effort than they would if they were solely charged with the responsibility. In other words, when any number of people can potentially take it upon themselves to fix the printer, social loafing says a high percentage of individuals in the group will assume that someone else will take the initiative to complete the task. Hence, the social loafing phenomenon. 
A hundred years ago, a French engineer named Maximilien Ringelmann investigated the social loafing tendency through a series of <a href="https://hbr.org/2012/08/why-less-is-more-in-teams">rope pulling experiments </a>. 
He discovered that as group size increases, the effort exerted to a task by each individual decreases. So if more people were in the group, the worse the group performance would become. He found that eight people in a group didn't even pull as hard as four people, meaning the smaller groups put in more effort. They shirk their effort thanks to the social psychology theory of social loafing. 
Some have called this the "sucker effect," meaning others believe the "sucker" will do the most work and the individual can get off as the free-rider. 
<img src="https://blog.trello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Rd4Na0NiTXC5i23y1Bot_1-min.gif?width=630&amp;name=Rd4Na0NiTXC5i23y1Bot_1-min.gif"> 
<h2>What Causes Social Loafing?</h2>
More researchers have <a href="http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/soc_psych/latane_soc_loaf.html">suggested </a>that this diffusion of responsibility is due to decreased pressure on any individual and that a bigger group size dictates less individual effort. 
Overall, <a href="https://blog.trello.com/form-storm-norm-perform-stages-of-team-productivity">group development theory</a> has shown that people approach tasks differently depending on the quality of their relationships with their co-workers, so social loafing may not be as popular in companies where members of the group have cohesiveness. 
In a large company, you're more apt to believe that surely there must be someone else that will put in the effort to fix the printer. ...Right? Anyone? :crickets: 
<h2>Don't Do Nothing, Social Loafers</h2>
Michael Pryor, co-founder and Head of Product at Trello, is determined to eliminate the social loafing mentality that can occur when an individual on a team assumes other people will address a problem. Social loafing has no place at Trello. Michael has a simple saying he reiterates during all company meetings: Don't Do Nothing. 
Michael makes this mantra clear to the entire company because he believes in empowering his employees to make decisions for themselves. By telling them "Don't Do Nothing," he is giving them agency in the decision-making process to take any next steps they see fit to solve the problem. 
"We have always said our goal is to hire smart people and then get out of their way and let them do their job," Michael explains. "By giving people agency, we are basically telling them: own a decision." 
<h2>Empower Your Employees</h2>
Don't Do Nothing is self-explanatory: if you see an issue that needs to be addressed, make a decision about what the next steps should be. Social loafing would say to do nothing, but not at Trello. The Don't Do Nothing concept is a <a href="https://blog.trello.com/9-emotionally-intelligent-norms-team-needs-truly-productive">group norm</a> has caught on like wildfire around the company, inspiring memes of Michael and even a custom emoji. 
When a person has the motivation to go to another team at Trello to bring something to their attention, their statement is often prefaced with, "In the spirit of Don't Do Nothing, I noticed that..." 
<img src="https://blog.trello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/4636657-432x576.jpg?width=432&amp;name=4636657-432x576.jpg">This flattering photo of Michael turned into the poster child for Don't Do Nothing. In unrelated news, he's awesome.<h2>How To Get Rid Of Social Loafing</h2>
Reducing social loafing tendency and increasing contributions among your team comes down to trust. 
 If you don't place trust in your employees and colleagues to make the right decisions, the outcome and <a href="http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/one-tough-thing-all-good-leaders-do.html">the effects </a>can be dire. Not to mention all the extra work that can occur for yourself by needing to approve every little thing. According to <a href="http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/109399/your-employees-trust-you.aspx">Gallup </a>, establishing trust in the workplace is one of the factors most highly correlated with employee satisfaction and motivation. 
"The hardest thing for an entrepreneur is ceding control to other people," Michael explains. "You spend so much time doing everything by yourself that it becomes second nature. But you can't scale a company by yourself. Hire people you trust and then give them the ability to make decisions. It's the only way you'll grow." 
Michael routinely relies on his management team to report to him on projects surrounding Product decisions, Sales requests, Marketing campaigns, Engineering capabilities, and HR feedback. 
Without placing his trust in these people and their individual teams, he would be working around the clock and spreading himself too thin trying to keep up. 
It also comes back to servant leadership, a concept to which Michael fully subscribes. Giving his employees the autonomy to make decisions allows them to expand their confidence, cultivate strong groups, and ultimately empower everyone to improve the company any way they see fit. 
<blockquote>
<img src="https://blog.trello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/MHP-200x200.png?width=200&amp;height=200&amp;name=MHP-200x200.png">"The hardest thing for an entrepreneur is ceding control to other people. You spend so much time doing everything by yourself that it becomes second nature. But you can't scale a company by yourself. Hire people you trust and then give them the ability to make decisions. It's the only way you'll grow."
- Michael Pryor, CEO of Trello
</blockquote>
<h2>Putting Theory Into Action</h2>
"Don't Do Nothing" is not just a meme, it actually compels Trello team members to take action when they otherwise wouldn't. The effort behind Trello's theory has reduced social loafing significantly. It has significantly improved cross-team communication, and has reduced stress. 
On multiple occasions a developer has pinged me about a broken link or a typo in recent posts. Fresh eyes are always great because even copy editors miss a few typos. The little extra effort (coupled with the good intention to help the company rather than point out someone's mistakes) has a positive effect in all aspects of our day-to-day responsibilities. 
The Web team has an "Incoming" list on a Trello board where anyone can report a bug they notice.
The team addresses the cards in the queue as time allows. One time a Server developer noticed through his own work that the Web client seemed to be taking too long to switch from a large board to a small one. Instead of assuming the team knew about it, he made a card on their board just in case. Turns out his observations were right, and the fix was added.
All team members, including other members not on technical staff, are encouraged to report bugs and performance issues:
<img src="https://blog.trello.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dontdonothing-1024x264.jpg?width=1024&amp;name=dontdonothing-1024x264.jpg">This is an actual exchange between myself and Lou, an iOS developer. <h2>Sometimes You Should Actually Do Nothing</h2>
It's not just about galvanizing people to take action. It's also about giving them the option to not take action, if that's what they think is the right course. Michael also trusts his employees to assess a problem and say, "this isn't worth anyone's time." 
He is essentially saying that if someone sees a problem and decides not to address it, he trusts that they made a thoughtful decision before deciding not to alert anyone else. After all, as NYTimes bestselling author <a href="https://blog.trello.com/charles-duhigg-productive-people-think-this-more-often">Charles Duhigg told us</a>: "A huge part of productivity is exposing yourself to the knowledge that alternative ways of thinking are possible." 
And as Michael explains, "You don't make the decision to ignore something because you assume it's someone else's problem. That's the distinction. Because you are aware of it, it is now your responsibility to deal with it." 
<h2>You Can't Fix Everything</h2>
It may seem overwhelming, especially at a small company where you are wearing many hats and not part of a group, to think that you need to fix every error you spot. The point is not to drop everything and immediately try to do something. If everyone was reactive when addressing a problem, the result would be a lack of focus. Rather, the point is to take responsibility for the knowledge you have gained, and make a decision about what to do. 
And most importantly, getting rid of social loafing means now you never need to feel guilty about that darn printer again. 
Good or bad, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Find us on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/trello">@trello</a>) or write in to <a href="mailto:support@trello.com">support@trello.com</a>Next: <a href="https://blog.trello.com/eisenhower-matrix-productivity-tool-trello-board">The Eisenhower Matrix Productivity Method [Video Tutorial] </a> Editor's Note: This post was originally published in March, 2016 but we've added a whole heap of new ideas and nuggets of information to it. 
</div>

Be honest: there have been times when you noticed the printer was broken, audibly sighed, pressed a few buttons, then slowly walked away, effectively washing your hands of that pesky problem. It's okay, we've all done it. No one likes making the effort to fix the printer.

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How To Rid Social Loafing From Your Workplace

Social Loafing

What Causes Social Loafing

Get Rid Of Social Loafing

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Bite‑sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

How To Rid Social Loafing From Your Workplace

Social Loafing

What Causes Social Loafing

Get Rid Of Social Loafing

The worst workplace distractions aren't your phone, email, or social media

How to Be Productive

Productivity Isn't About Time Management. It's About Attention Management.

Bite‑sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career