Herzberg – Two factor theory

 Herzberg – Two-factor theory

 

Herzberg defined two sets of factors in deciding employees working attitudes and level of performance, named Motivation & Hygiene Factors (Robbins, 2009).

 

Figure 1.3

Herzberg’s Hygiene and Motivational Factors




(Source: Herzberg 1987)

 

The two-factor theory introduced more points to measure how individuals are motivated in the workplace. The two factors mainly described that the lower-level needs of individuals would not motivate them but prevent them from being dissatisfied. To motivate employees. Organizations should focus on supplying motivation factors (Robbins, 2009).

 

Responses about good feelings are generally related to job content motivators, whereas responses about bad feelings are associated with hygiene factors. Motivational factors are achievement, recognition, responsibility, and advancement. Hygiene factors are extrinsic to the job, such as interpersonal relationships, salary, supervision, and company policy (Herzberg, 1966).

 

Hygiene factors are less to contribute to employee motivation when the motivation factors contribute to increasing the level of job satisfaction (Robbins, 2009).

I work for a leading garment manufacturing company management usually implements the following conditions in the workplace to increase the level of hygiene factors of the employee.

·         Good management style

·         Good atmosphere in the workplace

·         Attractive greetings

·         Emergency care treatment in the workplace.

·         Comfortable working hours

·         Job security

 

According to Locke (1976), that job satisfaction most commonly affects a person's physical health, mental health, and social life. On the other hand, job satisfaction is associated with salary, occupational stress, empowerment, company, and administrative policy, achievement, personal growth, relationship with others, and the overall working condition. It has been stated that an increase in job satisfaction increases employee productivity (Wright & Cropanzano, 1997; Shikdar & Das, 2003).

I work for a leading garment manufacturing plant that has implemented the following practices to eliminate job satisfaction. Without motivation, the employee will not put their best into the work, and the organization's performance would be less efficient.

Best Production Supervisor


(Source: Herzberg 1959)

  • Monthly recognition for the work
  • Financial rewards for the target achievement
  • On-time salary and incentives
  • Salary increment and allow to earn more money through overtime work if the work is overloaded
  • Provide internal and external sources training to enhance the technical knowledge.

 

Salary plays an important role in motivating employees. A good salary will motivate the employee highly.  It will cause to give the whole effort to the job. According to Tang et al. (2004) that someone who values money highly will be satisfied with the salary.

 

List of references

Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland, OH: World Publishing Company.

Locke, E. A. (1976). The supervisor as "motivator": his influence on employee performance and satisfaction. Washington: Heath and Company.

Stephen P. Robbins (2009). Organizational Behaviour: International Version, 13/E. Pearson Higher Education

Tang, T. L. P., Luna-Arocas, R., Sutarso, T., & Tang, D. S. H. (2004). Does the love of money moderate and mediate the income-pay satisfaction relationship? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2, 111–135.

Wright, T. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1997). Well being, satisfaction and job performance: another look at the happy/productive worker thesis. Academy of Management Proceedings, 364–368.

 

 

Comments

  1. Hi thiloka, agree with you, adding to your points, The two-factor theory is related to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it introduces more factors to measure individuals are motivated in the workplace. The theory holds lower levels of demand will not motivate employees to work hard, but only prevent them from being dissatisfied. to motivate employees, a higher level of demand must be provided(Robbins, 2009).

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    1. Thank you for your Comments Dineth, I agree with your view. The presence of motivator factors can lead to an increase in motivation and satisfaction and higher commitment. The absence of motivational factors will not certainly reduce motivation (Pardee, 1990).

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  2. Agreed Thiloka. In addition to the above, This theory shows that humans do not make an effort to meet the lower-level needs but prevent them from becoming dissatisfied (Kian, 2013). In order to motivate employees, management must focus on providing high-level requirements. Motivation factors such as recognition, achievement, responsibility, growth, opportunities and promotion make high motivation and high satisfaction further; hygiene factors include salary, Working Conditions, Job Security, personal life, Company policies, and administration create general satisfaction (Kim, 2006). Herzberg says the best way to motivate the employees is to give challenging work to take responsibility (Leach and Westbrook, 2000).

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    1. Thank you for your Comments Nirmika, I agree with your view. There is a need to address the motivating factors associated with work called is as job enrichment. Every job should be examined to determine how it could be made better and more satisfying to the person doing it (Herzberg, 1987). Hence, managers need to consider and include
      Providing opportunities for achievement;
      Recognizing workers contributions;
      Creating work that is rewarding and that matches the skills and abilities of the employee
      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 position they want within the company.

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  3. Hi Thiloka. Well-written article,. According to Herzberg's two-factor theory applied to the organization, two types of motivating factors can be identified. One type is satisfiers or motivators, such as recognition, work advancement, responsibility, achievements, growth and promotional opportunities, and meaningfulness of the work (Lundberg , 2009).

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    1. Thank you for your comments, Dileep. Motivation refers to the forces within an individual that account for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work (Schermerhorn, 1985).

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  4. Hi Thiloka, adding to your points. Further the two factor theory can be known as motivation-maintenance theory, where this can be categorized in to two parts as extrinsic factors and intrinsic factors as explained by (Farage, Miller, Elsner and Maibach, 2008). Hence Involvement of factors were explained accordingly to identify the theory.

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    1. Thank you for your Comments Deshani, I agree with your view. Herzberg noted that the motivators are intrinsic factors that permit psychological growth and development on the job such, as achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, challenges, and the work itself (Wilson, 2010; Ajila & Abiola, 2004).

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  5. Hi Thiloka. Adding more to your points, many studies have been conducted between motivational factors and hygienic factors. Based on those studies, it has come to light that motivational factors takes lead than the other as motivation always keeps employees occupied and willingness to work (Winer & Schiff, 1980).

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    1. Thank you for your comments, Amila. The hygiene factors are also referred to as the maintenance factors and comprise the physiological, safety, and love needs from Maslow’s hierarchy and are not directly related to the job. The conditions that surround doing the job. They operate primarily to dissatisfy employees when they are not present. The presence of such conditions does not necessarily build strong motivation (Gibson, 2000).

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  6. Hi Thiloka, well written article and adding to the Herzberg – Two factor theory according to Spector (1997), based on people liking or disliking their jobs are defined as job satisfaction whereas has a positive influence in employee obligation and organizational performance (levy, 2003) and has a negative influence on non-appearance and turnover intentions (Yousef, 2000).

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    1. Thank you for your comments, Lakshan. According to Herzberg's theory, certain characteristics are consistently related to job satisfaction while different factors are associated with job dissatisfaction (Ratzburg, 2003).

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  7. Hi Thiloka, very informative post. Personally, I find myself agreeing with the two factor theory. However, Opsahl and Dunnette (1966) raise some concerns over the validity of this theory. Their argument is that there is no solid theoretical base to conclude that the supposed motivators do, indeed, increase performance.

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    1. Thank you for your Comments Divakar, I agree with your view. Both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards motivates the employee resulted in higher productivity (Reio and Callahon, 2004)



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  8. Agreed with Thilok, Distinguishes between factors preventing dissatisfaction and affecting motivation: the hygiene and the motivation factors, hygiene factors are needed to ensure an employee is not dissatisfied, motivation factors are needed to motivate one to higher performance (Kakkos and Trivellas, 2011). That has been elaborate in your blog very clearly.

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    1. Thank you for your Comments Shazna, I agree with your view. The intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors relate to dissatisfaction (Herzberg, 2003). An efficient reward system can be a good motivator, but an inefficient reward system can lead to the demotivation of the employees.

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