6. What Is the Hawthorne Effect? (C1-C2)

Podcast Introduction

Hello, I’m Daryush, and welcome to the Business English Hub, the podcast that helps you speak clearly and confidently at work. This podcast is for professionals, students, and job-seekers who use English in meetings, presentations, interviews, and beyond. Listen regularly to build your vocabulary, improve your fluency, and feel more comfortable using English in the workplace. By the way, there’s a free transcript for this episode on my website, so you can read along or review later. You’ll also find some Business English courses and one-to-one lessons there. You can watch this episode on YouTube to listen and read the captions at the same time, and I’m on Spotify and Amazon Music as well if you prefer audio-only. If you enjoy my content, please consider subscribing. And if you’re on YouTube, give me a thumbs up and leave a comment. I really appreciate your support!

Episode Introduction

Okay, let’s dive into this week’s topic: the Hawthorne Effect. You may have come across this term before, or perhaps not. It does sound a little technical, but trust me, it’s actually a really interesting concept about how people behave at work, and in other situations, for that matter, when they know they’re being observed. Today in the episode, I’m going to describe the Hawthorne Effect and where it comes from, discuss the possible effects it has on you in contemporary workplaces or even learning environments, and relate some personal anecdotes from my teaching experience where the concept applies. I’m also going to have a brief vocabulary spotlight toward the end on a few of the advanced-level terms such as surveillance and micromanagement. After listening to this episode, you’re going to have a clear understanding of the Hawthorne Effect and perhaps recognize where it affects you in your own life or work!

What Is the Hawthorne Effect?

So, what exactly is the Hawthorne Effect? In a nutshell, it’s the tendency for people to change or improve their behavior because they know they’re being watched or studied. The term comes from a series of well-known experiments conducted nearly a century ago at a factory called the Hawthorne Works, near Chicago. Back in the 1920s, researchers wanted to see how different workplace conditions affected employee productivity. They tried things like changing the lighting, making the lights brighter or dimmer, to see if workers would produce more. And guess what happened? The workers’ productivity improved almost every time they made a change, even when the lights were dimmed to very low levels. That was surprising, because you’d think poor lighting would make people less productive. Instead, it seemed like the workers worked harder simply because they knew they were part of a study and someone was paying attention to them. It was almost like a placebo effect for productivity. The change in behavior came from feeling observed and special, not from the physical changes in lighting.

This led the researchers to suspect that the attention the workers were receiving was the real cause of the productivity boost, not the specific changes in light or other working conditions. In other words, when people feel like someone is interested in their work and is observing them, they put in extra effort, at least for a while. That phenomenon was later named the Hawthorne Effect, after the factory. It’s essentially a kind of observation-driven change in behavior: being observed makes you react. The general idea stuck because it rings true in many situations. We often do adjust our behavior when we know someone’s watching. Over the years, some scholars have debated how strong this effect really is, but it’s become a popular concept in business and psychology because people recognize this pattern in real life.

The Hawthorne Effect in Today’s Workplace

Now let’s talk about how the Hawthorne Effect shows up in modern workplaces, and even beyond work. Think about a time when your boss or supervisor started paying more attention to what you were doing. Maybe they sat in on your meeting or suddenly started tracking your output closely. How did you feel? Chances are, you tried to look busy and competent. You put on your “A-game,” your highest level of performance. This is the Hawthorne Effect in action. When we know we’re being observed or evaluated, most of us try a bit harder to do things right.

For example, I have friends who say that when upper management walks through the office, everyone suddenly sits up straighter, focuses on their screen, and works with extra intensity. The moment the manager leaves, people relax a little and maybe chat or take a breather. It’s not that they’re lazy. It’s just human nature to respond to an observer’s presence. We all want to show our best side when someone’s watching, especially if that someone has influence over us.

Some managers actually use this effect deliberately. Have you ever heard of “management by walking around”? That means bosses occasionally stroll through the workplace, not to micromanage, but just to be visibly present. Often, their presence alone keeps everyone on their toes. Even knowing that your performance is being measured can trigger a mild Hawthorne Effect. If you’re aware that at the end of the month the boss will see your sales numbers or how many support tickets you closed, you might find yourself working a bit faster as that review date approaches. That said, the goal isn’t to turn the workplace into an episode of Big Brother. Good leaders use observation as support and engagement, not as constant surveillance. There’s a big difference between an attentive manager who shows genuine interest in the team’s work versus one who’s always looking over your shoulders. The former can boost morale and the latter can hurt it.

And the Hawthorne Effect isn’t limited to the office. For example, one study found that students in a school washed their hands more thoroughly when another person was present and “observing” in the bathroom, compared to when they were alone.

My Own “Hawthorne Effect” Experiences

This concept really resonates with me in my teaching life. Let me share a couple of personal stories where I noticed that being observed made a big difference.

The first story goes back to when I was training to be a teacher. I was doing my CELTA course, which is an English teaching certification, some years ago, and part of that training involved teaching real students while being observed by my instructors. Talk about pressure! I had two experienced trainers sitting at the back of the classroom, evaluating everything I did. I was very aware of their presence, and I definitely taught differently because of it. I over-prepared and stuck very strictly to my lesson plan. I wanted to impress and avoid mistakes at all costs. The pressure of being watched pushed me to perform at my absolute best, but it also made me a bit stiff and nervous. That’s a classic Hawthorne Effect example: being observed changed how I behaved in the classroom.

Another place I see the Hawthorne Effect is when I teach online and use Zoom breakout rooms. I often let students discuss topics in small groups. If I’m not visibly in a breakout room, students tend to chat more casually and might even slip into their native language if they share one. But the moment I join the room as the teacher, boom, the atmosphere changes. Everyone switches back to English and becomes more focused on the task. It’s like when a boss walks into an in-person meeting: suddenly, people become more professional. Knowing the teacher is listening makes students put in extra effort. Sometimes I even keep my camera off and just listen in the background to observe more natural interactions, because I know if they see me, it’ll immediately influence how they speak. Simply my presence, or even the hint of it, boosts their concentration and performance.

 I believe, and I’ve seen this again and again, that one-to-one lessons are often much more productive precisely because of the Hawthorne Effect. In a private lesson, students know that they’re being observed the entire time. There’s no space to hide at the back of the classroom or to switch off for a few minutes. They’re aware that the teacher is following everything they say and do, and that awareness pushes them to give their best effort. They focus more, they take fewer shortcuts, and they often surprise themselves with how much they can accomplish in a single session. From my perspective, that constant observation really boosts productivity in ways that a larger group lesson simply can’t replicate.

These experiences, being the one observed and the one observing, have shown me that the Hawthorne Effect isn’t just an old theory from a factory. It’s something very real that affects learning, working, and everyday behavior. It reminds me as a teacher, and as someone who might manage others, that just the act of watching can influence how people perform, sometimes in positive ways, but you have to be mindful of the pressure it can create.

Vocabulary Spotlight

Before we finish, let’s pause for a quick vocabulary spotlight. I want to highlight a few advanced terms from today’s episode that you can add to your own professional English.

• The first one is placebo. You might know this from medicine, a sugar pill that has no real effect but makes patients feel better simply because they believe it will. In the Hawthorne studies, productivity went up almost like a placebo effect: not because of the lighting, but because the workers felt observed and valued.

• Next is surveillance. This means close, often constant observation, usually with a negative tone. In the workplace, surveillance suggests that employees are being watched too much, maybe through cameras or software. In our discussion, I contrasted supportive observation with constant surveillance, because one motivates people and the other usually stresses them out.

• The third word is morale. This refers to the general mood, spirit, or level of confidence among a group of people. In business, leaders talk a lot about “employee morale,” whether staff feel positive and motivated or negative and discouraged. A manager’s presence, if it’s supportive, can lift morale. If it feels like surveillance, it can damage team morale.

• And finally, micromanage. This verb means to control every small detail of someone’s work instead of trusting them to do their job. In the episode, I mentioned that “management by walking around” isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about showing interest and being present. Micromanagement usually lowers morale and productivity because employees feel they don’t have any autonomy.

Those are some key terms from today’s episode. If you check the transcript on my website, you’ll see these words highlighted in context. Try using them in your own sentences or look them up later to reinforce your understanding.

So, that’s it for today’s episode. Thank you for listening to the Business English Hub podcast. I hope you found the discussion useful and maybe thought of some examples from your own life. I’d love to hear your thoughts: Do you behave differently when someone’s watching? What helps you stay productive when you’re on your own? And how do you think managers or teachers should use, or not use, observation to motivate their teams or students? These are interesting questions to reflect on. Feel free to share your ideas or stories by leaving a comment or sending me a message.

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Thanks again for joining me, and until next time, keep learning, keep practicing, and keep exploring the world of Business English. Have a great day at work, wherever in the world you may be! Talk to you soon!

Click here to download the full transcript in PDF format.