The solo worker produces 1x worth of work.
When we think about hiring, we often assume the next employee would double the output to 2x. But that’s typically not true because a new variable is introduced: coordination.
The team members must communicate and coordinate to stay on the same page. This might bring productivity down to 1.8x.
A third worker would again increase productivity, but not a full worker’s worth. Total productivity might only increase to 2.6x.
So why do it?
One answer is specialization.
If worker 1 and 2 can split up tasks based on their skills each person could be more productive. In these cases you get a 1+1=3 situation.
Rather than interfere with each other, how might team members amplify each other?