Familiarity and group productivity.

Abstract

The effects of familiarity on group productivity were examined.Familiarity refers to the specific knowledge workers have of their jobs, co-workers, and work environment.In this study of coal-mining crews, absenteeism led to staffing changes that affected the level of familiarity in the work group.Data from 26 crews in two underground coal mines indicate that lower levels of familiarity are associated with lower productivity. Article:The effects of familiarity on group productivity were examined in this study of coal-mining crews.Absenteeism led to short-term changes in these crews, which affected the levels of crew familiarity Familiarity refers to the knowledge group members have about specific job, crew, and work-environment configurations.Declines in levels of familiarity were hypothesized to be associated with declines in productivity.This study extends prior research (Goodman & Garber,1988) showing that familiarity affects the rate of accidents.Though based on a similar theoretical framework, the present study involves different analytical procedures and a different data set.