Do Loafers Shirk? The Relation between Team Performance and Individual Effort

In social psychology, poor performance of individuals in teams is usually classified under the heading of ‘social loafing.’ In economics and administrative sciences, the concepts of ‘shirking’ and ‘free riding’ are used to denote poor performance by individuals working in collectivities. Research in all these disciplines tends to stress the propensity of team members to withhold effort. The present article describes how psychology and economics explain the – presumed – withholding of effort by individuals in teams, and discusses the remedies that are suggested. It is argued that the ongoing integration of the two disciplinary lines of reasoning unfortunate, and that a return of social psychology to the position of recognising teamwork as a social activity will be beneficial for both workers and managers