Psychology in the Workplace

Work can be very stressful, especially when we are understaffed. I was so happy the other day because we had extra staff during my shift. I thought to myself that because we had so many I would get a break and that the work would be divided among all of us so that it was quicker. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I've realized that the more staff we have, the less we get done. :( I was quite upset because I still ended up doing the same amount of work and it actually took longer. When we get more staff there is more talking amongst ourselves and we also tend to go off of each other's energy or in this case lack of. hehe... As I thought about this I remembered there is actually a psychological term for it. This is called social loafing. Google defines it as the phenomenon of people exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group than when they work alone.

The sad reality is that the more staff on shift, the less productive we will be. But on the bright side, the more the merrier right? Well I guess it depends on the staff member but it's still nice haha..

So there you have it... psychology in the workplace... social loafing.