3. Frederick Herzberg’s Two- Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory

 

3.     Frederick Herzberg’s Two- Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory

Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, often known as the "two-factor theory," has drawn a lot of interest since it offers a useful strategy for motivating employees. Herzberg presented his examination of the beliefs and opinions of 200 accountants and engineers from more than nine American companies in 1959. These experts were asked to recount instances wherein they felt both extremely negatively and exceptionally positively about their employment and to rank those instances. Responses concerning positive sentiments are typically connected to the job's objectives (motivators), whereas those about negative feelings are connected to the job's atmosphere (the hygiene factor) (Schroder, 2008). Motivators include elements incorporated within the profession itself, such as accomplishment, recognition, accountability, and advancement. A job's extrinsic hygiene components include interpersonal interactions, compensation, supervision, and corporate policy (Herzberg, 2003). According to Herzberg, factors affecting different components of job satisfaction can be divided into two dimensions: motivational and hygiene factors. The conventional understanding of employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction as two opposite ends of the same continuum was different from this belief. Although they prevent unhappiness, hygiene considerations do not result in satisfaction. They are simply necessary to prevent conflict at work. On the other side, motivators are what actually motivate employees to work better. Numerous other studies examined the two-factor theory, and their findings were substantially different. According to several studies, some of the elements (Herzberg, 1966) classified as hygiene factors were essentially motivators. If the test is carried out in several industries, the outcomes of Herzberg's theory may differ. Due to the intensity of the effort needed and the length of employment, there are variances (Nave, 1968). How to differentiate between hygiene elements and motivators has been the subject of extensive criticism. While some variables have shown to clearly fall into one of the two categories, others, most notably salary, have shown to be unclear regarding whether they are motivators or hygiene variables.

It is believed that satisfaction and motivation are quite comparable and that they are frequently used interchangeably. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1988) assert that, in terms of reward and output, motivation and job satisfaction are quite distinct from each other. The authors made the point that whereas satisfaction is determined by how people feel about the rewards they have already received; motivation is impacted by thoughts about the future relationship between achievement and rewards. In other words, while contentment is a result of the past, motivation is a result of aspirations for the future (Okine, et al., 2021).

 

 

References

Hersey, P. & Blanchard, K. H., 1988. Management and Organizational Behavior.. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Herzberg, F., 1966. Work and the Nature of Man.. Cleveland, OH: World Pub..

Herzberg, F., 2003. One more time: how do motivate employees?. Harvard Business Review, Volume 81, pp. 86-96..

Nave, J. H., 1968. Construction personnel management.. Journal of Construction Division, Volume 94, pp. 95-105.

Okine, G. N. B., Addeh, Y. A. G., Olusola, E. B. & Asare , I., 2021. Employee Motivation and its Effects on Employee Productivity/Performance. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 12(16), pp. 99-108.

Schroder, R., 2008. Job satisfaction of employee at a Christian university. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 17(2), pp. 225-246.

 

 

Comments

  1. Tharaka De Visser7 December 2022 at 17:19

    Agreed on the above content Upul Samantha Disanayaka, according to the two-factor theory, a business can change either one of two components to affect employee motivation. These two factors are Hygiene factors and Motivational factors. Hygiene factors will not motivated employees and work effectively but if these factors aren’t given by an organization the workforce will be unhappy and demotivated and Motivational factors would lead to positive satisfaction and are inherent to work. (Nickerson, 2021)

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    1. Upul Samantha Disanayaka 9 December 2022 at 07:19

      I would further like to add that when motivators are present, workers are motivated to work harder. They can be discovered within the job itself. Additionally, workers will exert less effort if there are no hygienic concerns. Although they surround the profession, hygiene considerations are not part of the job itself. (EPM, 2021)

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  2. Nadula Nishadi9 December 2022 at 10:52

    Great post Upul. As such, according to Herzberg's theory, there are several elements that are connected to the job's requirements and give employees satisfying experiences. According to the theory, there are two separate sets of factors that have an impact on job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The satisfaction of hygiene needs can prevent dissatisfaction and poor performance, but only the satisfaction of the motivation factors will bring the type of productivity improvement sought by companies (Stello, C.M., n.d.).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dulakshi Jayathilake13 December 2022 at 10:53

    Agree with blog post content. In addition, the well-known Two-factor theory of Fredrick Herzberg was developed in 1959. (Yusoff et al, 2013). Maslow's hierarchy of requirements and two-factor theory are closely connected, however two-factor theory added extra variables to assess employee motivation at work. According to this view, satisfying people's lower-level needs (such as their intrinsic or hygienic requirements) won't spur them on to work harder; rather, it will just keep them from feeling unsatisfied. Higher-level needs (intrinsic or motivational elements) must be met in order to encourage employees. The result for firms using this theory is that addressing extrinsic or hygienic aspects for employees will only stop them from becoming actively dissatisfied but won't encourage them to put out more effort for improved performance (Yusoff and Kian, 2013).

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