The Hawthorne experiments were a series of studies conducted at the Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago between 1924 and 1932. They were initially designed to examine the relationship between physical working conditions and employee productivity. However, the experiments gradually shifted attention from purely physical and economic factors to the social and psychological dimensions of administration. In the perspective of Public Administration, the Hawthorne studies are significant because they contributed to the Human Relations approach, emphasizing the importance of employees, informal groups, communication, leadership and morale in organizations. The first major experiment was the Illumination Experiment, conducted between 1924 and 1927. Researchers attempted to determine whether changes in lighting affected worker productivity. Different levels of illumination were introduced, and productivity was measured. Surprisingly, productivity increased even when lighting conditions were reduced. This suggested that physical working conditions alone could not explain employee performance. The experiment indicated that workers’ attitudes, attention and social circumstances could have a greater influence