George Elton Mayo (1880-1949) worked for the Hawthorne Works of General Electric Company. He managed human behavior experiments between 1924 and 1927 and is widely considered to be the creator of the human relations movement. Mayo reached certain conclusions and has been widely quoted and published. He discovered:
That work is a group activity.
The social world of the adult is primarily patterned about work activity.
The need for recognition, security and sense of belonging is more important in determining workers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which he works.
A complaint is not necessarily an objective recital of facts; it is commonly a symptom manifesting disturbance of an individual's status position.
The worker is a person whose attitudes and effectiveness are conditioned by social demands from both inside and outside the work plant.
Informal groups within the work plant exercise strong social controls over the work habits and attitudes of the individual worker.
The change from an established society in the home to an adaptive society in the work plant resulting from the use of new techniques tends continually to disrupt the social organization of a work plant and industry generally.
Group collaboration does not occur by accident; it must be planned and developed. If group collaboration is achieved the human relations within a work plant may reach a cohesion which resists the disrupting effects of adaptive society.
Although you may not agree with all of his conclusions you can clearly see a pattern of importance regarding communication. Communications and teamwork greatly enhances work satisfaction and employee retention. If you would like to know how to increase effective communications in your workplace consider reading my book Talk A'int Cheap...It's Priceless. If you would like to purchase books for all of your employees call me at 949-637-4233.