A term generally used to describe
an improvement in worker productivity that arises when the worker's
environment is changed experimentally, even if the change is for the
worse. The idea behind the Hawthorne effect is that experimentation, per
se, conveys a message that management is vitally interested in its
employees and that this message alone can stimulate improved
performance. From 1927 to 1932, Mayo and Roethlisberger experimented
with lighting levels at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant in Chicago.
They found that worker performance increased with every change in the
lighting level, even when the change was to reduce illumination. This
unexpected result has been attributed to the change in worker attitudes
resulting from simple human attention. The significant implication of
the Hawthorne experiment is that one should not rely on early
productivity and worker satisfaction measurements when trying to assess
the true impact of changes to a given work environment.
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