Social Loafing in Teams

Developed by Lærke Viuff Petersen

Abstract

One of the roles of a project, program or portfolio manager is to motivate the project team and make sure they perform at their best and contribute to the work (ISO, 2021). However, this can be challenging due to noncontributing team members, a concept also known as social loafing.

Social loafing is a social psychology theory that describe the loss of individual motivation while working in a group or team, as opposed to working alone. This loss of motivation leads to a reduction in performance and effort exerted by the individual in the team (Rutte, 2008).

This article will introduce the concept of social loafing and the underlying theories that explains the phenomenon and the factors affecting it. Furthermore, the relation to project, program and portfolio management will be described as well as ways of reducing the effect of social loafing.