Description and Analysis of the Hawthorne Study
The studies conducted by Hawthorne Works in the 1920s, which later became known as
Hawthorne study, were meant to see whether the productivity of their workers increased due to
improved working conditions. These study has been the foundation of revolutions made in the
businesses everywhere in terms of improved working conditions and improved relations with
management.
Examples of some of the changes that human resource management implements in accordance
with Hawthorne study are increased breaks between working hours, company transport to and
from work for those who do not own vehicles, friendlier supervisors and managers, increased
rewards being awarded on merit, bonuses and regular increases in pay, among many others.
The Hawthorne study was basically aimed at finding out whether productivity among employees
was related to their satisfaction with their working environment. I once worked for an NGO
where my main work was writing reports on the findings that I made out in the field and it
involved a lot of emailing. Writing of these reports was tedious and required that I carry my
laptop everywhere I went as I did not have a smartphone. On realizing that majority of its
workers did not have smartphones, the NGO introduced a smartphone policy whereby all its
employees would get a bonus at the end of each year in order to buy themselves a smartphone.
This lessened the burden of me carrying my laptop with me everywhere I went and thus I got to
the field refreshed and ready to work.
