George Elton Mayo
George Elton Mayo was an influential Australian psychologist born in 1880 in Adelaide. Initially studying medicine, he shifted his focus to philosophy and psychology, earning degrees from the University of Adelaide and later serving as a lecturer. Mayo's work in industrial psychology gained prominence during his time in the United States, particularly through his involvement in the Hawthorne experiments at the Western Electric plant, which aimed to understand the relationship between working conditions and productivity. His findings highlighted the significance of social dynamics and worker morale, indicating that factors like management style and work breaks played a crucial role in enhancing productivity.
Mayo's research led him to conclude that effective supervision and a supportive work environment were essential for employee satisfaction and performance. He developed training programs for supervisors and emphasized the need for management to acknowledge workers' concerns. His contributions laid the groundwork for the human relations movement within industrial management, advocating for a balance between human and organizational needs. Mayo published several influential works, solidifying his legacy as a key figure in industrial psychology. He passed away in 1949 in England.
George Elton Mayo
Social theorist, industrial psychologist
- Born: December 26, 1880
- Birthplace: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Died: September 1, 1949
- Place of death: Guildford, Surrey, England
Also known as: Elton Mayo
Education: Collegiate School of St. Peter, University of Adelaide
Significance: Psychologist George Elton Mayo was a leader in the field of industrial sociology. His work focused on the importance of group dynamics in productivity and how job satisfaction was related to workers' ability to contribute to decision making.
Background
George Elton Mayo was born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, in 1880. He was the first child of civil engineer George Gibbes and Henrietta Mary Mayo. Mayo attended the Queen's School and the Collegiate School of St. Peter. He studied medicine at the University of Adelaide but withdrew. Between 1901 and 1903, he attended medical schools in Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England.
Mayo traveled West Africa throughout 1903. Upon his return to London, he wrote magazine articles about his experiences. He then taught English for a time at Working Men's College before traveling home to Adelaide in 1905. Two years later, he returned to school, studying philosophy and psychology. He graduated with honors, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1910. He later earned a master of arts degree in 1926.
Mayo became a lecturer in mental and moral philosophy at the University of Queensland in 1911. He held the university's first chair of philosophy from 1919 to 1923. He traveled to the United States in 1922 on a Rockefeller grant. There, Mayo studied high worker turnover at a textile mill as a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. This work led to great opportunities. The Harvard School of Business Administration offered him a position as an associate professor in 1926. He became professor of industrial research in 1929. During this time, Mayo analyzed data from experiments in Chicago, Illinois, and formulated influential social science theories.
Life's Work
Although he became known for his research in industrial psychology, World War I (1914–1918) influenced Mayo's early work. Many troops who returned from combat were experiencing what was called nervous breakdowns, or shell shock, and later became known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He began work with a physician to try to understand the causes of PTSD and find treatment options. In Australia, he noticed political and workplace conflicts. He began to develop theories about the parallels between labor unrest and the psychological problems caused by warfare.
Mayo's early research in the industrial arena was at a spinning mill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where worker turnover was 250 percent. During the study, management scheduled breaks during the day, which improved morale and productivity. After a year, turnover in the spinning department was about 6 percent. After an analysis of the study and results, Mayo concluded that the regular work breaks led to the improvement.
The next study in Mayo's career called into question the conclusions of the mill study. He joined the Hawthorne experiments in Chicago in 1928—four years after the National Research Council had begun the work. The Western Electric Hawthorne plant manufactured telephones and related equipment. The study sought to learn if workplace lighting affected the efficiency of individual workers. Two groups of workers were exposed at varying times to three lighting conditions: improved levels, standard levels, and below-standard levels. All three lighting levels resulted in increased productivity. Researchers concluded that any changes in conditions improved productivity among the workers. Other incentives, such as breaks and higher wages, also resulted in greater productivity. Lighting itself was found not to be a factor. Hawthorne's management and the researchers agreed to continue the experiments to learn more and established a test group of six workers.
In 1927, management invited Clair Turner, a professor of biology and public health, to Hawthorne to analyze the results of the study. She noticed that longer work breaks allowed workers to interact more, which lifted their spirits. The supervisor overseeing the workers was friendly and interacted with them. Turner concluded that many factors, including the attention workers received as part of the experiments, contributed to the increases in productivity.
Mayo also was consulted on the experiment's findings. He suspected that the dynamics of the small working groups had affected performance—the test room workers had become a social unit. He developed a series of questions, and his team interviewed thousands of workers. He discovered that workers' moods improved if they discussed a concern, even if nothing changed. Mayo concluded that the supervisor's friendly management style was the key to productivity improvements.
Mayo was involved in another experiment at Hawthorne called the Bank Wiring Room study. However, the workers were suspicious of the company, and as a group, they agreed to limit output, regardless of financial incentives or output goals established by management. Adding this information to what he had found in the test room, Mayo concluded that the supervision of both groups affected outcome. While the test room supervisor had a relaxed and encouraging relationship with workers, the wiring room supervisor did not interact with workers. To the wire room workers, management was the opposition.
Mayo believed that supervisors needed to be trained to oversee workers. This included training in how to interview and listen to employees. He also concluded that successful supervisors were outgoing and interested in communicating with people. Mayo developed workplace supervisory training programs and programs to train supervisors during World War II (1939–1945). He explained his ideas in several influential books about industrial psychology and social theory.
Impact
Mayo's work revealed the importance of worker input in industry. Worker satisfaction is influenced by one's opportunities to express concerns and dissatisfaction. He concluded that management should recognize the concerns of workers and find a balance between human and industry concerns. Mayo's books on the subject were highly influential in industrial psychology, and later studies confirmed his findings. His leadership training approach was used in industry and by the military, and he has been called the founder of the human relations school of management. Some researchers have questioned Mayo's findings. A 1966 analysis concluded that observation alone influenced workers' behavior. The researchers called this the Hawthorne effect.
Personal Life
Mayo married Dorothea McConnel on April 18, 1913, while teaching at the University of Queensland. The couple had several children. Mayo died on September 7, 1949, in Guildford, Surrey, England.
Principal Works
The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization, 1933
The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization, 1945
Bibliography
Anteby, Michel, and Rakesh Khurana. "A New Vision." Harvard Business School, www.library.hbs.edu/hc/hawthorne/anewvision.html#e. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
Bourke, Helen. "Mayo, George Elton (1880–1949)." Australian Dictionary of Biography, adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mayo-george-elton-7541. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
"Definition of 'Hawthorne Effect.'" Economic Times, economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/hawthorne-effect. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
Dininni, Jeanne. "Management Theory of Elton Mayo." Business.com, 16 May 2017, www.business.com/articles/management-theory-of-elton-mayo. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
"Elton Mayo." British Library, www.bl.uk/people/elton-mayo#. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
"Enter Elton Mayo." Harvard Business School, www.library.hbs.edu/hc/hawthorne/04.html. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
"A Field Is Born." Harvard Business Review, 1 July 2008, hbr.org/2008/07/a-field-is-born. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
Gillespie, Richard. Manufacturing Knowledge: A History of the Hawthorne Experiments. Cambridge UP, 1993.
"The Hawthorne Effect." Economist, 3 Nov. 2008, www.economist.com/node/12510632. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017.
Mayo, Elton. The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Macmillan Co., 1933.