What is Herzbergs theory and how does it relate to an understanding of motivation?

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Businesses and organizations have long sought for answers on how to boost employee production, and therefore, profits. Fortunately, many researchers have extensively studied human motivation to try and understand what drives humans to work. Herzberg’s two-factor theory outlines that humans are motivated by two things: motivators and hygiene factors (see Figure 1). These two factors are both critical to motivation: motivators encourage job satisfaction and hygiene factors prevent job dissatisfaction.

• Motivation factors: factors that are related to workplace satisfaction. They cover intrinsic needs such as achievement, recognition, and advancement. Motivation factors allow employees to be content in their jobs and promote growth.
• Hygiene factors: factors that are not related to workplace satisfaction but must be present in the workplace in order to prevent dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors cover extrinsic needs such as pay grade, workplace policy and relationships with their peers.

See also: Model of Motivation: ARCS Instructional Design

Many are familiar with Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which outlines the basic, psychological and self-fulfillment needs of humans. His theory explored the needs that human have, particularly growth and connection with others. Herzberg conducted his studies at the same time as Maslow, and built on his theory to address motivation in the workplace. Herzberg focused on the attitudes of workers and job satisfaction (Figure 2). He made some interesting discoveries, including the lack of linear relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic needs. His most dramatic discovery, however, was that the result of his studies was reliant on what the researcher was looking for. He then changed his factors to discover both the satisfiers and the dissatisfiers in the workplace.

Applications

There is one key idea that one must keep in mind when using Herzberg’s theory: intrinsic needs and extrinsic needs are distinct things. An individual will not suddenly become satisfied with their job if you suddenly change the environment or remove what is bothering them. Similarly, an individual will not be suddenly satisfied with their job if you make the work more enriching (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Herzberg’s Theory Terminologies:

In order to apply Herzberg’s theory in the workplace, one must examine the hygiene factors. As stated above, hygiene factors do not contribute to workplace satisfaction but must be present in order to prevent workplace dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors are closely related to extrinsic needs:

Hygiene factors consists of a set of 10 factors:

company policies and administration, quality of technical supervision, quality of interpersonal relations among peers, subordinates, and superiors, salary, job security, personal life, working conditions, and status.

If any of these factors are lacking or missing, a worker is much more likely to be dissatisfied with their job. Workers who consistently file complaints often have one or more of their needs that is not being met. Similarly, examples of dissatisfiers would be poor workplace policy, aggressive management, or a negative workplace environment.

Managers can often increase workplace satisfaction by simply having a conversation with their colleagues to find out what they are unhappy with. Some problems have easy solutions, such as keeping supplies organized or having more materials in stock. An employee’s pay is often a more challenging issue to rectify, but supervisors should still evaluate their business plan and compensation strategy. Supervisors should also reach out to employees to discover if there are any factors in their personal lives that may affect their job satisfaction. Overwhelmed and stressed employees are rarely productive or happy. It is vital that workplaces offer emotional support and maintain positive relationships with their employees.

There is a small play in words in the use of “hygiene” factors. Medically speaking, this means maintaining good personal hygiene in order to prevent disease. Having good hygiene does not mean that you will never die; it means that you can hold off discomfort or disease in your lifetime. In an organization, maintaining good “hygiene” means that your employees remain productive; it does not mean that you will grow. Hygiene factors allow corporations to maintain their employees. This leads us to the second part of the two-factor theory: motivation. Just because employees are satisfied does not mean that they are motivated to brainstorm new ideas or take on a new project.

The dating of the two-factor theory is believed to be particularly important. Like Maslow, Herzberg established his theory in the 1960’s, a time where the culture believed that people were mostly motivated by money. Herzberg rebuked this traditional idea, believing that it was actually the content, not the context, of a job that caused satisfaction. If a corporation is looking to develop new products and expand into new areas, they need to understand what motivates people to be more productive. They can begin with looking at the intrinsic needs of workers:

The six motivators that fulfill employee intrinsic needs:

achievement, recognition, growth, advancement, responsibility, and the work itself.

Essentially, managers will need to reevaluate the ‘human’ aspect of their employees, including their goals, value and hobbies. They will need to invest emotionally into the relationship by taking the time to talk to them, thank them for their loyalty, or send a card acknowledging their hard work. Managers can also celebrate an employee’s creativity or an important milestone in their career. Above all, they need to be good leaders by helping their subordinates develop to their full potential.

Like the hygiene factors, the motivation factors do not lower the level of dissatisfaction. Even if employees are motivated to work on new projects, they are still affected by extrinsic needs. Potential problems, such as pay rate or low amounts of office supplies, still need to be addressed. This is why both factors are necessary in the two-factor theory.

See also: Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction

What do people want from their jobs? Do they just want a higher salary? Or do they want security, good relationships with co-workers, opportunities for growth and advancement – or something else altogether?

This is an important question, because it's at the root of motivation - the art of engaging with members of your team in such a way that they give their very best performance.

The psychologist Frederick Herzberg asked the same question in the 1950s and 60s as a means of understanding employee satisfaction. He set out to determine the effect of attitude on motivation, by asking people to describe situations where they felt really good, and really bad, about their jobs. What he found was that people who felt good about their jobs gave very different responses from the people who felt bad.

Click here to view a transcript of this video.

These results form the basis of Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory (sometimes known as Herzberg's Two Factor Theory). Published in his famous article, "One More Time: How do You Motivate Employees," the conclusions he drew were extraordinarily influential, and still form the bedrock of good motivational practice nearly half a century later.

Motivation-Hygiene Theory

Herzberg's findings revealed that certain characteristics of a job are consistently related to job satisfaction, while different factors are associated with job dissatisfaction. These are:

Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. From "One More Time: How do You Motivate Employees?" by Frederick Herzberg, January 2003. Copyright © 1968 by the Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation; all rights reserved.

The conclusion he drew is that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are not opposites.

• The opposite of Satisfaction is No Satisfaction.
• The opposite of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction.

Remedying the causes of dissatisfaction will not create satisfaction. Nor will adding the factors of job satisfaction eliminate job dissatisfaction. If you have a hostile work environment, giving someone a promotion will not make him or her satisfied. If you create a healthy work environment but do not provide members of your team with any of the satisfaction factors, the work they're doing will still not be satisfying.

According to Herzberg, the factors leading to job satisfaction are "separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction." Therefore, if you set about eliminating dissatisfying job factors, you may create peace but not necessarily enhance performance. This placates your workforce instead of actually motivating them to improve performance.

The characteristics associated with job dissatisfaction are called hygiene factors. When these have been adequately addressed, people will not be dissatisfied nor will they be satisfied. If you want to motivate your team, you then have to focus on satisfaction factors like achievement, recognition and responsibility.

Despite its wide acceptance, the theory has its detractors. Some say its methodology does not address the notion that, when things are going well, people tend to look at the things they enjoy about their job. When things are going badly, however, they tend to blame external factors.

Another common criticism is the fact that the theory assumes a strong correlation between job satisfaction and productivity. Herzberg's methodology did not address this relationship, therefore this assumption needs to be correct for his findings to have practical relevance.

To apply the theory, you need to adopt a two-stage process to motivate people. Firstly, you need to eliminate the dissatisfaction they're experiencing and, secondly, you need to help them find satisfaction.

Step One: Eliminate Job Dissatisfaction

Herzberg called the causes of dissatisfaction "hygiene factors." To get rid of them, you need to:

• Fix poor and obstructive company policies.
• Provide effective, supportive and non-intrusive supervision.
• Create and support a culture of respect and dignity for all team members.
• Ensure that wages are competitive.
• Build job status by providing meaningful work for all positions.
• Provide job security.

All of these actions help you eliminate job dissatisfaction in your organization. And there's no point trying to motivate people until these issues are out of the way!

You can't stop there, though. Remember, just because someone is not dissatisfied, it doesn't mean he or she is satisfied either! Now you have to turn your attention to building job satisfaction.

Step Two: Create Conditions for Job Satisfaction

To create satisfaction, Herzberg says you need to address the motivating factors associated with work. He called this "job enrichment." His premise was that every job should be examined to determine how it could be made better and more satisfying to the person doing the work. Things to consider include:

• Providing opportunities for achievement.
• Recognizing people's contributions.
• Creating work that is rewarding and that matches people's skills and abilities.
• Giving as much responsibility to each team member as possible.
• Providing opportunities to advance in the company through internal promotions.
• Offering training and development opportunities, so that people can pursue the positions they want within the company.

Here we're approaching the subject of motivation in a very general way. In reality, you'll need "different strokes for different folks" – in other words, different people will perceive different issues, and will be motivated by different things. Make sure you talk with your people regularly one-on-one to find out what matters to them.

Tip 2:

This theory is largely responsible for the practice of allowing people greater responsibility for planning and controlling their work, as a means of increasing motivation and satisfaction. To learn more about this, see the Mind Tools article on job enrichment.

The relationship between motivation and job satisfaction is not overly complex. The problem is that many employers look at the hygiene factors as ways to motivate when, in fact, beyond the very short term, they do very little to motivate.

Perhaps managers like to use this approach because they think people are more financially motivated than, perhaps, they are, or perhaps it just takes less management effort to raise wages than it does to reevaluate company policy, and redesign jobs for maximum satisfaction.

When you're seeking to motivate people, firstly get rid of the things that are annoying them about the company and the workplace. Make sure they're treated fairly, and with respect.

Once you've done this, look for ways in which you can help people grow within their jobs, give them opportunities for achievement, and praise that achievement wherever you find it.

Apply This to Your Life

If you lead a team, take a little time with each of its members to check that they're happy, that they think they're being fairly and respectfully treated, and that they're not being affected by unnecessary bureaucracy.

You may be horrified by what you find once you start probing (bureaucracy, in particular, has a way of spreading), however, you may be able to improve things quickly if you put your mind to it.

Then find out what they want from their jobs, do what you can to give this to them, and help them grow as individuals.

If you do this systematically, you'll be amazed by the impact this has on motivation!

To explore how you can apply this at work, take our Bite-Sized Training session on Motivating Your Team.