Herzberg

Frederick Herzberg was a well respected American who has contributed greatly to the way in which managers think about motivation at work. He first published his theory in 1959 in a book entitled ‘The Motivation to Work’ and put forward a two factor content theory which is often referred to as a two need system. It is a content theory which explains the factors of an individual’s motivation by identifying their needs and desires, what satisfies their needs and desires and by establishing the aims that they pursue to satisfy these desires.
Herzberg’s original research was undertaken in the offices of engineers and accountants rather than on the factory floor and involved interviewing over two hundred employees. His aim was to determine work situations where the subjects were highly motivated and satisfied rather than where the opposite was true and his research was later paired with many studies involving a broader sampling of professional people.
In his findings Herzberg split his factors of motivation into two categories called Hygiene factors and Motivation factors. The Hygiene factors can de-motivate or cause dissatisfaction if they are not present, but do not very often create satisfaction when they are present; however, Motivation factors do motivate or create satisfaction and are rarely the cause of dissatisfaction. The two types of factors may be listed as follows in order of importance:
Hygiene Factors (leading to dissatisfaction):
Company Policy
Supervision
Relationship with Boss
Work Conditions
Salary
Relationship with Peers
Motivators (leading to satisfaction):
Achievement
Recognition
The work itself
Responsibility
Advancement
Growth
The dissatisfiers are hygiene factors in the sense that they are maintenance factors required to avoid dissatisfaction and stop workers from being unhappy, but do not create satisfaction in themselves. They can be avoided by using ‘hygienic’ methods to prevent them.
It is clear from the lists that the factors in each are not actually opposing i.e. the satisfiers are not the opposite of the dissatisfiers. The opposite of satisfaction isn’t dissatisfaction but is ‘no satisfaction’. Both lists contain factors that lead to motivation, but to a differing extent because they fulfil different needs. The Hygiene factors have an end which once fulfilled then cease to be motivating factors while the Motivation factors are much more open-ended and this is why they continue to motivate.
Herzberg also developed the concept that there are two distinct human needs:
1) Physiological needs: avoiding unpleasantness or discomfort and may be fulfilled via money to buy food and shelter etc.
2) Psychological needs: the need for personal development fulfilled by activities which cause one to grow.
He identified this as the Adam and Abraham Concept where Adam is animal and wants to avoid pain or discomfort, but Abraham is human and needs to go beyond the physical requirements and expand psychologically too.
Herzberg believed that the Hygiene factors causing no satisfaction are not applicable to the task an employee undertakes but are external to that task. They are the Adam part of the concept where an incentive may be attributed to a fear of punishment or increase in discomfort or as he phrased it ‘A Kick up the Ass’ (KITA). He thought that these did work but only as short term motivators e.g. constantly increasing someone’s salary to motivate them will merely encourage them to look for the next wage rise and nothing else; however, salary may also be a de-motivator where the employee perceives it to be too low or low compared to that of their peers. The long term motivators are the Abraham part of the concept that lead to satisfaction and are intrinsic to the job itself and the job design. Consider the chambermaid who prefers to receive a note of appreciation for her high standards from a guest than a carelessly delivered gratuity.
It is important to understand that the two types of factors are not mutually ex