The fast shift to hybrid work models has altered the organisational dynamics that have become a significant concern in the question of employee engagement and productivity. Social loafing, which is the decrease in an individual's effort in a group activity, is one of the most well-known problems in such an environment. This paper will seek to analyse the critical causes of social loafing by incorporating structural, technological and psychological causes. The research in particular examines how task visibility, mode of communication, trust, and group cohesion affect social loafing behaviour among the Indians in the workplace. In this study, the quantitative type of research was used, and information was gathered by utilising 615 employees who worked in hybrid settings through a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results have shown that task visibility, trust, and group cohesion have a significant effect in minimising social loafing, and communication mode alone does not have a significant direct influence but moderates the effect. The work is valuable to the literature because it gives a unified theoretical approach to the concept of social loafing in the context of hybrid work, especially in the developing world. The implications of the insights presented in the findings provide valuable managerial implications for developing effective hybrid work strategies that will boost accountability, trust, and team cohesion.
Dr. Sumit Prasad (Thu,) studied this question.