"Together we are strong"? Not so fast!

In reality, the more people in a group, the smaller the contribution of each individual member. This is not an opinion, but a scientific fact called the "Ringelmann effect."

Back in the 1920s, French professor Maximilien Ringelmann measured the efficiency of people in a team.

What's the gist?
Ringelmann asked people to perform a simple physical task — pulling a rope. First individually, then in groups of different sizes. He attached a dynamometer to each apparatus to accurately measure the applied force.

Results
When one person pulled the rope, they gave 100%. Logically, two people would show 200%, and eight would show 800%.

But reality was different:
1 person = 100% effort
2 people = 93% of expected sum
3 people = 85%
8 people = only 49%!

How did this work?
Ringelmann identified two key factors:
— Social loafing: In a crowd, confidence arises that you can "slack off" — your contribution won't be noticed anyway. The "free rider" principle kicks in.
— Coordination loss: In a large group, people start pulling at slightly different times and in different directions. Chaos ensues, and the team's efficiency drops.

Conclusion
The productivity gain from increasing group size is inversely proportional to its size.

Simply put, it's faster to get work done with 2-3 versatile people than to assemble a full team. The overall strength of a large team will prove to be an illusion.

TG | MAX | VK |DZEN| #team #research