Abstract:

Undergraduate students’ perceptions of social loafing behaviour were investigated within a South African university teamwork context (N = 229). Four components of perceived social loafing behaviour were investigated: unavailability (of the loafer), poor work quality, discussion non-contribution and technology loafing. Loafer apathy (a general lack of care or interest) predicted significant variance in each of the four loafing behaviours. Students compensated (a social compensation effect) for a social loafer’s poor work quality, rather than reducing their inputs (the sucker effect). Moderation analysis using PROCESS indicated that having an effective student team leaders increases a team’s ability to compensate for a member with perceived loafer apathy. Interestingly, apathetic loafers in teams with effective leaders tend to engage in more technology loafing. Results of this preliminary study point to the importance of further research on student team leadership to determine its influence on loafing behaviour and the subsequent team compensatory effect.

Keywords:

Social loafing, leadership, undergraduate teams.