What is the John Henry Effect?

The John Henry effect in HR is a human behavior phenomenon in which the employees responsible for operating and managing the process are adversely affected by the introduction of work automation technologies. Invariably, they will experience increased stress levels and work intensity during the initial stages of tech introduction.

What is the legend of John Henry?

This story goes back to September 20, 1887, when John Henry, a black railroad man, raced with a steam drill and won. But he died as a result of overexertion and suffered from ventricular rupture. He passed away while bleeding out, with his wife cradling his head.

What is the John Henry Effect, according to Saretsky?

Gary Saretsky wrote a paper on this titled ” THE JOHN HENRY EFFECT: POTENTIAL CONFOUNDER OF EXPERIMENTAL vs CONTROL CD GROUP APPROACHES TO THE EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIONS”. In his paper, Saretsky explained the emotional pressure that John Henry went through, which drove him to his death. He describes how the two parts – the control group react to a new experiment. In this case- Henry (the control) competes against the steam drill (the new treatment). He has this inexplicable urge to prove himself better than the experiment. Saretsky also cited another example that compared the performance of contracting in US schools to traditional classroom instruction. In this experiment, the teachers also proved their worth when a new competition was introduced.

FAQs

How can John Henry’s effect be reflected in employees?

According to the John Henry effect, some employees will be in control, and others will be the ones who use the experimentation. In this case, the ones in control may feel like they must prove their mettle and outperform the experiment. For example, with the introduction of AI, every writer feels like they are in competition. The writer(control) feels like the AI (experiment) will replace them. So, they continue to step up their game and do better.

What is an example of John Henry’s effect on work culture?

When a company introduces and tests a new tool on a particular group (experiment group), the other group (control group) may feel left out. The control group may perceive they are at a disadvantage and do everything to overcome it.