The Hawthorne Effect: Understanding Workplace Behavior

The Hawthorne Effect originated from experiments conducted at Western Electric's factory at Hawthorne, Chicago in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In these studies, workers' productivity seemed to increase when they were aware that they were being observed. The key takeaway from this is that employees may change their behavior simply because they know they're being watched - often improving their work ethic. For instance, suppose a manager is present in a workplace. The employees, knowing they are observed, may work harder or more efficiently. However, this behavior may not necessarily continue when the observer is no longer present.