How did the Hawthorne researchers view the workplace?

The Hawthorne researchers conceptualized the workplace as a social system of interdependent parts. This perspective emerged from their studies conducted at the Hawthorne Works factory, which focused on how social dynamics and employee relationships impacted productivity. The researchers recognized that employees are not merely individual workers fulfilling isolated tasks; instead, they function within a network of interactions and relationships that collectively influence work behaviors and attitudes.

Through their experiments, they found that factors such as social interactions, group dynamics, and the work environment significantly affected employee performance. This understanding highlighted that organizations are complex social systems where the interdependencies among workers play a crucial role in determining overall effectiveness. This view led to the recognition of the importance of human relations in management and organizational theory, emphasizing a holistic approach to understanding workplace dynamics rather than viewing it through a purely mechanistic or transactional lens.