TOEFL Speaking Task 3

Social loafing is a phenomenon in which individuals exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone. This occurs because people feel their individual contributions are less identifiable and thus less accountable. Social loafing can reduce overall group productivity and is more likely to occur in larger groups. Researchers have identified factors that can mitigate social loafing, such as making each member's contribution visible or giving tasks that are personally meaningful.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a company I once consulted for. They had a team of five people responsible for writing a marketing report. Each person was assigned a section, but they were told to work together as a group and submit a single report. The manager noticed the report took twice as long as expected and the quality was poor. When I interviewed the team members, they admitted that they didn't feel responsible for the final outcome because it was a group effort. So I suggested a change: each person had to submit their own section with their name on it, and the team would assemble the final report. Suddenly, the quality improved dramatically, and the report was done in half the time. The team members later told me that because their individual work was now visible, they felt more accountable and worked harder.