Hawthorn Effects

When people react to certain work condition changes as part of a study, it may be because they are stimulated to perform better or they may be dissatisfied and their productivity may fall off. The reaction to these changes could be lumped under the Hawthorn effect; there must have been a need to see how worker productivity could be increased by modifying the conditions they were in such as improving the lighting or reducing the number of hours they have to spend before a break.

The term came to light in the midfifties when analysis of work conditions under low light at an electric company was done in the early thirties. The name of the effect called Hawthorn comes after the name of the company in Illinois where, to begin with, women were studied as they assembled telephone relays. Their performance depended on how the breaks would be applied to their work shift, the duration and frequency of those breaks, whether food was provided then and whether the workday was shortened. Their reaction measured in terms of being more productive, was more positive with a limit to the number of short break times and a reduction to their work time.

One way to see the Hawthorn effect in operation is by seeing a contrary reaction of people to a change in company policy something that was not as strong when Hawthorn first studied worker reaction to industrial demand, the effect of corporate branding and the whole corporate culture that goes along with a company’s growth that is also influenced by globalization around the world. Recently a server complained of a change of atmosphere at a local café he was working at, the working environment had become more sterile, less friendly, waitresses had to wear a mandatory uniform with a change purse hitched on their waists. All that probably affected his and other worker production levels as their discontent grew with the growing impersonalization of the place.

The change of the environment must have also reduced their productivity because in other studies where the café work environments become friendlier and is more personal employees are staying on longer and are happier. Perhaps that is due to franchisers who can develop their own theme around the eatery or café they own.

There is an additional element often associated with corporate that is often a cause to its own demise and is often repeated, as long as workers are only seen as cogs in a wheel they are less likely to feel good about where they are and that always spill over in customer relations, a smile goes a long way as do greetings and the willingness to get to know a steady customer. Once that client feels ignored or is rushed through corporate like manoeuvres at a café, he will likely not return.