The Hawthorne Experiments and Employee Motivation

Elton Mayo's studies grew out of preliminary experiments at the Hawthorne plant from 1924 to
1927 on the effect of light on productivity !hose experiments showed no clear connection
"etween productivity and the amount of illumination "ut researchers "egan to wonder what #ind
of changes would influence output
Variables Affecting Productivity
$pecifically% Elton Mayo wanted to find out what effect fatigue and monotony had on &o"
productivity and how to control them through such varia"les as rest "rea#s% wor# hours%
temperature and humidity 'n the process% he stum"led upon a principle of human motivation
that would help to revolutioni(e the theory and practice of management
Elton Mayo selected two women% and had those two select an additional four from the assem"ly
line% segregated them from the rest of the factory and put them under the eye of a supervisor
who was more a friendly o"server than disciplinarian Mayo made fre)uent changes in their
wor#ing conditions% always discussing and explaining the changes in advance
Relay Assembly
!he group was employed in assem"ling telephone relays * a relay "eing a small "ut intricate
mechanism composed of a"out forty separate parts which had to "e assem"led "y the girls
seated at a lone "ench and dropped into a chute when completed
!he relays were mechanically counted as they slipped down the chute !he intent was to
measure the "asic rate of production "efore ma#ing any environmental changes !hen% as
changes were introduced% the impact to effectiveness would "e measured "y increased or
decreased production of the relays
eedbac! mechanism
!hroughout the series of experiments% an o"server sat with the girls in the wor#shop noting all
that went on% #eeping the girls informed a"out the experiment% as#ing for advice or information%
and listening to their complaints
!he experiment "egan "y introducing various changes% each of which was continued for a test
period of four to twelve wee#s !he results of these changes are as follows+
"or! #onditions and Productivity Results
,nder normal conditions with a forty*eight hour wee#% including $aturdays% and no rest pauses
!he girls produced 2%4-- relays a wee# each
1 !hey were then put on piecewor# for eight wee#s
o .utput increased
2 !hey were given two five*minute "rea#s% one in the morning% and one in the afternoon%
for a period of five wee#s
o .utput increased% yet again
/ !he "rea#s were each lengthened to ten minutes
o .utput rose sharply
4 $ix five*minute "rea#s were introduced
o !he girls complained that their wor# rhythm was "ro#en "y the fre)uent pauses
o .utput fell only slightly
0 !he original two "rea#s were reinstated% this time% with a complimentary hot meal
provided during the morning "rea#
o .utput increased further still
1 !he wor#day was shortened to end at 4/- pm instead of 0-- pm
o .utput increased
1
7 !he wor#day was shortened to end at 4-- pm
o .utput leveled off
2 3inally% all the improvements were ta#en away% and the original conditions "efore the
experiment were reinstated !hey were monitored in this state for 12 more wee#s
o .utput was the highest ever recorded * averaging /--- relays a wee#
Elton Mayo$s #onclusions on %ob Performance
Elton Mayo came to the following conclusions as a result of the study+
The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of &ob performance' 4lthough
they give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the individual% the
amount produced is strongly influenced "y social factors
(nformal organi)ation affects productivity' The researchers discovered a group life
among the wor!ers' !he studies also showed that the relations that supervisors
develop with wor#ers tend to influence the manner in which the wor#ers carry out
directives
"or!*group norms affect productivity' !he Hawthorne researchers were not the first
to recogni(e that wor# groups tend to arrive at norms of what is 5a fair day's wor#5
However% they provided the "est systematic description and interpretation of this
phenomenon
The wor!place is a social system' !he researchers came to view the wor#place as a
social system made up of interdependent parts !he wor#er is a person whose attitudes
and effectiveness are conditioned "y social demands from "oth inside and outside the
wor# plant 'nformal group within the wor# plant exercise strong social controls over the
wor# ha"its and attitudes of the individual wor#er
!he need for recognition% security and sense of "elonging is more important in
determining wor#ers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which
he wor#s
!he ma&or finding of the study was that almost regardless of the experimental manipulation%
wor#er production seemed to continually improve .ne reasona"le conclusion is that the
wor#ers were happy to receive attention from the researchers who expressed an interest in
them .riginally% the study was expected to last one year% "ut since the findings were
inexplica"le when the researchers tried to relate the wor#er's efficiency to manipulated physical
conditions% the pro&ect was incrementally extended to five years
+oo!ing ,ac! on the Experiments
3or decades% the Hawthorne studies provided the rationale for human relations within the
organi(ation !hen% in 1972% 6 H 3ran#e and 78 9aul used a new procedure called 5time*
series analyses5 with the original data and varia"les% including the :reat 8epression and the
instance of a managerial discipline in which two insu"ordinate and mediocre wor#ers were
replaced "y two different% productive wor#ers
!hey discovered that production was most affected "y the replacement of the two wor#ers due
to their greater productivity and the effect of the disciplinary action on the other wor#ers !he
occurrence of the 8epression also encouraged &o" productivity% perhaps through the increased
importance of &o"s and the fear of losing them
6est periods and a group incentive plan also had a somewhat positive smaller effect on
productivity !hese varia"les accounted for almost all the variation in productivity during the
experimental period $ocial science may have "een too ready to em"race the original
Hawthorne interpretations since it was loo#ing for theories of employee motivation that were
more humane and democratic
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Modern Management +essons
;hat seemed to "e most impactful during the experiments was that six individuals "ecame a
team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the
experiment <onse)uently% they felt as if they were participating freely and were happy in the
#nowledge that they were wor#ing without coercion from a"ove or limitation from "elow
!he experimental group had considera"le freedom of movement ;ith the o"server overseeing
them% rather than their previous !heory = managers% they weren't pushed around or
micromanaged !hey were satisfied with the result of wor#ing under less pressure than ever
"efore 'n fact% regular medical chec#s showed no signs of cumulative fatigue and a"sence from
wor# declined "y 2- percent ,nder these conditions% they developed an increased sense of
responsi"ility 'nstead of receiving discipline from higher authority% it emerged from within the
group
Applying the Hawthorne Effect to Employee Motivation
$uppose you select a management trainee and provide speciali(ed training in management
s#ills not currently possessed ;ithout saying a word% you've given the trainee the feeling that
she is so valua"le to the organi(ation that you'll spend time and money to develop her s#ills
$he feels she's on a trac# to the top% which% in turn% motivates her to wor# harder and more
effectively !his form of employee motivation is independent of any particular s#ills or #nowledge
she may have gained from the training session !hat's the Hawthorne Effect at wor#
'n a way% the Hawthorne Effect can "e construed as an enemy of the modern manager <arrying
the theory further toward cynicism% it could "e said that it doesn't matter how you manage%
"ecause the Hawthorne Effect will produce the positive outcome you want
Trac!ing Process (mprovements * -athering Performance Metrics
,nfortunately% the measurement of performance can unintentionally affect the performance
itself 'n order to determine the impact of a new or modified process% someone needs to su"tly
o"serve wor#ers on the &o" and monitor production .ccasionally% managers o"&ect% saying that
o"servation isn't a valid test% 5.f course they'll perform "etter% you're watching them5
!he power of the social setting and peer group dynamics was reinforced for Elton Mayo later in
the Hawthorne $tudies% when he saw an unusual reaction to his original experiments 4 group of
14 men participating in a similar study restricted production "ecause they were distrustful of
management and thought that their )uotas would "e artificially elevated if they were to perform
"eyond the norm during these studies
'f wor#ers suddenly sense an environmental shift from a !heory = organi(ation to a !heory >
organi(ation% this can trigger false positives from nearly any otherwise meaningless or even
slightly detrimental process change 'nvolving your wor#ers in setting their own direction%
showing them that you care a"out how their &o" is progressing% and fostering a more positive
relationship will create "eneficial productivity impacts
<onversely% if your environment is one of mistrust and fear% and the wor#ers unite in re"ellion of
management's efforts to control and oppress them% there will "e little a manager can do to effect
positive change without first handling this toxic situation
.omeone Really #ares About Me/ * ,enefits of the Hawthorne Effect
Elton Mayo reali(ed that the women% exercising a freedom they didn't have on the factory floor%
had formed a social atmosphere that also included the productivity*trac#ing o"server !hey
tal#ed and &o#ed with one another !hey "egan to meet socially outside of wor#
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;hen these women were singled out from the rest of the factory wor#ers% it raised their self*
esteem ;hen they were allowed to have a friendly relationship with their supervisor% they felt
happier at wor# ;hen he discussed changes in advance with them% and allowed them a form of
participation% they felt li#e part of the team Elton Mayo had secured the girls cooperation and
loyalty !his explains why productivity rose even when he too# away their rest "rea#s
!here's nothing wrong with intentionally using the Hawthorne Effect to reach your goals 'n fact%
the Hawthorne Effect has also "een called the '$ome"ody ,pstairs <ares' syndrome ;hen
people spend a large portion of their time at wor#% they re)uire a sense of "elonging% of "eing
part of something "igger than themselves ;hen they do% they are more effective
!his effect has "een descri"ed as the reward you reap when you pay attention to people !he
mere act of showing people that you're concerned a"out them usually spurs them to "etter &o"
performance
That's the true Hawthorne Effect.
#01#+2.(01. (1 A 12T.HE++
;or# is a group ?social@ activity
!he social world of the adult is primarily patterned a"out wor# activity
!he need for recognition% security and sense of "elonging is more important in
determining wor#ers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which
he wor#s
4 complaint is not necessarily an o"&ective recital of factsA it is commonly a symptom
manifesting distur"ance of an individual's status position
!he wor#er is a person whose attitudes and effectiveness are conditioned "y social
demands from "oth inside and outside the wor# plant
'nformal groups within the wor# plant exercise strong social controls over the wor# ha"its
and attitudes of the individual wor#er
!he change from an esta"lished society in the home to an adaptive society in the wor#
plant resulting from the use of new techni)ues tends continually to disrupt the social
organi(ation of a wor# plant and industry generally
:roup colla"oration does not occur "y accidentA it must "e planned and developed 'f
group colla"oration is achieved the human relations within a wor# plant may reach a
cohesion which resists the disrupting effects of adaptive society
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H0" .H02+3 "E A1A+4.E 02R +(VE./
By :illian !ett% Financial Times% 17 7anuary 2-14
4 few years ago% 4lex C$andyD Eentland% a professor of computational social sciences at M'!
Media Fa"% conducted a curious experiment at a Ban# of 4merica call centre in 6hode 'sland
He fitted 2- employees with "iometric devices to trac# all their movements% physical
conversations and email interactions for six wee#s% and then used a computer to analyse Csome
1- giga"ytes of "ehaviour dataD% as he recalls
!he results showed that the wor#ers were isolated from each other% partly "ecause at this call
centre% li#e others of its il#% the staff too# their "rea#s in rotation so that the phones were
constantly manned 'n response% Ban# of 4merica decided to change its system to ena"le staff
to hang out together over coffee and swap ideas in an unstructured way 4lmost immediately
there was a dramatic improvement in performance C!he average call*handle time decreased
sharply% which means that the employees were much more productive%D Eentland writes in his
forthcoming "oo# Social Physics CG$oH the call centre management staff converted the "rea#
structure of all their call centres to this new system and forecast a I10m per year productivity
increaseD
;hen ' first heard Eentland relate this tale% ' was tempted to give a loud cheer on "ehalf of all
long*suffering call centre staff and corporate drones EentlandJs data essentially give credi"ility
to a point that many people #now instinctively+ that it is horri"ly dispiriting K and unproductive K
to have to toil in a tiny isolated cu"icle "y yourself all day Ban# of 4merica deserves credit "oth
for letting EentlandJs team engage in this people*watching K and for changing its coffee*"rea#
schedule in response
But there is a "igger issue at sta#e here too+ namely how academics such as Eentland analyse
our lives ;e have #nown for centuries that cultural and social dynamics influence how we
"ehave "ut until now academics could usually only measure this "y loo#ing at micro*level data%
which were often su"&ective 4nthropology ?a discipline ' #now well@ is a case in point+
anthropologists typically study cultures "y painsta#ingly o"serving small groups of people and
then extrapolating this in a su"&ective manner
Eentland and others li#e him are now convinced that the great academic divide "etween ChardD
and CsoftD sciences is set to disappear% since researchers these days can gather massive
volumes of data a"out human "ehaviour with precision $ometimes this information is
volunteered "y individuals% on sites such as 3ace"oo#A sometimes it can "e gathered from the
electronic traces K the Cdigital "readcrum"sD K that we all deposit ?when we use a mo"ile phone%
say@ or deli"erately collected with "iometric devices li#e the ones used at Ban# of 4merica
Either way% it can ena"le academics to monitor and forecast social interaction in a manner we
could never have dreamed of "efore C$ocial physics helps us understand how ideas flow from
person to person and ends up shaping the norms% productivity and creative output of our
companies% cities and societies%D writes Eentland C7ust as the goal of traditional physics is to
understand how the flow of energy translates into change in motion% social physics seems to
understand how the flow of ideas and information translates into changes in "ehaviourD
's this progressL
Many 3! readers may shout CnoD $ocial physics raises a plethora of privacy issues% especially if
you tag people
4nd while Eentland insists that these can "e managed with sensi"le co*operation and laws%
others such as Edward $nowden and :lenn :reenwald disagree 4nd there is another more
su"tle pro"lem with this idea of people*watching 4lthough computer scientists tend to thin# that
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digital "readcrum"s are as neutral as atoms% and can "e analysed using the tools of physics% in
reality they can "e culturally influenced too 4s :enevieve Bell% an anthropologist wor#ing at
'ntel has o"served% data are always organised% collected and interpreted "y people !hus if you
want to analyse what our interactions mean K let alone ma#e decisions "ased on this K you will
invaria"ly "e grappling with cultural and power relations
But perhaps the most important point is this+ whether you love or hate this new form of data
science% the genie cannot "e put "ac# in the "ottle !he experiments that Eentland and many
others are conducting at call centres% offices and other institutions across 4merica are simply
the leading edge of a trend
!he only )uestion now is whether these powerful new tools will "e mostly used for good ?to
predict traffic )ueues or flu epidemics@ or for more malevolent ends ?to ena"le companies to flog
needless goods% say% or for government control@ $adly% Csocial physicsD and data crunching
donJt offer any prediction on this issue% even though it is one of the dominant )uestions of our
age
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