What are disadvantages of teamwork?

Disadvantages of teamwork include interpersonal tension, inefficiency, uncertainty of rewards and inconsistency of performance. When people with different backgrounds and personalities work collaboratively, there is increased potential for strife, conflict and low morale.

Inefficiency often results because it takes longer for multiple people to discuss goals, strategies and tactics than it does for one person to decide. It is difficult for organizations and supervisors to effectively reward teams for quality performance. One element of this challenge is differences in level of output or production by team members. When someone is unfairly rewarded without putting in effort, team members may become upset.