FREE online courses on Group Dynamics - Reasons of Formation of Informal Groups

 

Workers form or join small informal groups for the following reasons:

 

1.                  Companionship: The need for relationship with other people is one of the strongest and most constant of human drives. Elton Mayo observed that the employees in a textile plant who worked at isolated jobs were highly dissatisfied and consistently failed to meet production standards and staggered rest period helped a little. But when the company permitted these workers to take rest period as a group, production and satisfaction both increased.

2.                  Sense of Identification: Workers get more identified in small groups, and so small groups tend to enjoy high morale. Employees working in large departments where everybody does the same type of job, find it hard to form stable social groupings and so they have low morale.

3.                  Source of Information: Informal group is a source of information to its members. Psychological barriers to communication are also overcome by the group.

4.                  Job Satisfaction: The group's solution to a problem may be different from what management expects and it may even be more efficient. Red tapism is eliminated, short cuts are evolved and informal channels of communication are established to cut across department boundaries. By the same token, work groups may also facilitate job satisfaction.

5.                  Protection of Members: Groups help to protect their members from outside pressures. Groups often resist management's demands for additional output, increased working hours, a higher quality.

6.                  Outlet for Frustration: An individual may be faced with several problems relating to his family life and work life. At times, he feels tremendous stress in life and gets frustrated. If he shares his feelings and anxieties with someone, his tension is released to a great extent. The social relations provide an important outlet for frustration.

7.                  Perpetuation of Cultural Values: Sometimes, groups are formed by individuals belonging to a common cultural background. Such people can preserve their cultural identity and also feel a sense of security by associating with those pursuing the same cultural values and social norms. Maintenance of cultural values will also provide them psychological satisfaction.

8.                  Generation of New Ideas: Informal groups are a breeding ground for new ideas as they provide a supportive environment in which the members can engage themselves in creative thinking.