Herzberg’s two factor theory
Figure 3. Nickerson, C., (2021)
The two-factor model
of motivation was developed by Frederick Hertzberg, Mausner,
and Snyderman in 1959 which was influenced by
Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Jones, T. L., 2011). This is also called Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory or dual-factor theory. (Nickerson, C.,
2021). According to Herzberg, motivation and hygiene factors are the two most
important factors that decide an employee’s attitude towards work and level of
performance (Robbins, 2009).
The motivation factors more directly lead to job satisfaction because of their need for self-growth and self-actualization, whereas the hygiene factors are related to the need to avoid unpleasantness (Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A., (2013)
Motivation factor
According to
Ruthankoon, R., & Ogunlana, S. O. (2003) The term ‘motivation’ comes from
the Latin word mover or ‘to move’ which defines how to provide something to
a person to drive him/her to do something. Herzberg et. al (1966) says that in order to promote job satisfaction,
motivational factors are a must. Herzberg further says that these are intrinsic
to the job and lead to job satisfaction since they satisfy the need for growth
and self-actualization. The absence of motivational factors do not prove highly
dissatisfying but when they are present, they build strong levels of motivation
that result in good job performance (Dartey-Baah, K., 2011).
o Advancement –Advancement is defined as a person's or employee's upward and positive status or position in the workplace. Poor progression at work is considered a negative indicator of advancement (Alshmemri, M; Shahwan-Akl, L.,Maude, P., 2017).
o The work itself –Employees are affected either positively or negatively by the content of job duties and assignments. Employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the workplace can be influenced by whether the job is too easy or too challenging, fascinating or dull (Nickerson, C., 2021).
o Responsibility –Employees that have ownership of their work will be more motivated to do a good job. Giving employees the freedom and power to do their responsibilities so they feel like they "own" the end result is essential. Provide opportunities for increased responsibility as employees progress in their careers. (Syptak, J. M. et al., 1999).
o Possibility for growth -Employees must have fair and enough opportunity to develop new skills and advance in their careers (Anupmaurya, 2021). This enables professional development, as well as expanded opportunities to learn new skills, receive training in new techniques, and gain new specialist skills (Alshmemri et al., 2017).
o Recognition –Recognition is based on praise, notice, and criticism from co-workers or management, and it primarily refers to receiving appreciation for task completion (Anupmaurya, 2021).
Hygiene Factors
According to
Gibson (2000), the physiological, safety, and love demands from Maslow's
hierarchy of needs are included in the hygiene elements of Herzberg’s
two-factor theory, which are also known as maintenance factors. These factors
may not be directly related to the job, but the absence of these factors will
dissatisfy employees and does not necessarily build strong motivation (Kurt,
2021).
o Interpersonal relations –The quality of the interpersonal relationships among colleagues, subordinates, and superiors plays a vital role in employee motivation. It is important that organizations offer emotional support and maintain positive relationships with their employees. (Dartey-Baah, 2011)
o Working conditions –Hong & Waheed (2011) identified working conditions as the most significant factor for job satisfaction. When the employees have good working conditions, their productivity increases as their motivation levels are high.
o Salary –As per Alshmemri et al., (2017) The salaries of employees have a direct impact on their motivation. Pay motivates the employees, and unfulfilled expectations of a salary decrease the employees' motivation.
o Company policies and administration –Syptak et al., (1999) state that The organization's policies can make employees frustrated if they are unclear or unnecessary. The organization needs to make sure that policies are fair and apply equally to all. It is always better to give printed copies of the company's policies-and-procedures manual to all members of your staff. Also, the company should review the policies from time to time to see whether they are reasonable because they put unnecessary pressure on employees.
Advantages of Herzberg’s two-factor theory
o
As Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory
provides integration of individuals’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
factors, it shows a direct focus on employee motivation. Motivation and hygiene
factors introduced by Herzberg have been proven to be similar to other
motivation theories (Borkowski, 2011).
Limitations of Herzberg’s two-factor theory
o
The ego-defensiveness of the employees could
negatively impact the reliability of the data when implementing the two-factor
theory (Haruna, 2013)
o
There was no overall satisfaction metric used.
Even if a person dislikes a part of their employment, they may still
consider the job to be satisfactory overall (Robbins, & Judge 2013)
References
Alshmemri et al., (2017). Herzberg’s
Two-Factor Theory- School of Health
Sciences (Nursing and Midwifery), RMIT University, Melbourne Australia [online].
Available at: https://www.lifesciencesite.com/lsj/life140517/03_32120lsj140517_12_16.pdf.
[Accessed 16 April 2022]
Anupmaurya, (2021). Organizational
behaviour- Herzberg Two Factor Theory
[online]. Available at: https://businesspedia.in/herzberg-two-factor-theory/.
[Accessed 16 April 2022].
Borkowski, N.,
(2011). Organizational Behavior in Health Care (2nd ed.) United Kingdom, Jones
and Bartlett Publisher International
Dartey-Baah, K., (2011). European
Journal of Business and Management- Application
of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory in assessing and understanding
employee motivation at work: a Ghanaian Perspective. [online]. Available
at: https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/EJBM/article/viewFile/642/535.
[Accessed 16 April 2022]
Gibson, J., Ivanevich, L., John,
M. & Donnelly, J. H. (2000), “Organisations-Behaviour- StructureProcesses”’
10th Edition. Boston. McGraw-Hill.
Haruna, M. K., (2013) AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF HERZBERGS
TWO-FACTOR THEORY [online]. Available
at:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305393390_AN_EMPIRICAL_ANALYSIS_OF_HERZBERGS_TWO-FACTOR_THEORY.
[Accessed 01 May 2022]
Herzberg, F., (1966). Work
and the nature of man. New York, Thomas Y Crowell.
Hong, T. T.,
& Waheed, A., (2011). Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and Job
Satisfaction in the Malaysia Retail Sector: The Mediating Effect of Love of
Money, Asian Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 16 (1), pp. 73–94
Jones, T. L., (2011). Factors
Influencing Job Satisfaction among Nurses in Public Health Facilities in
Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi Counties, Kenya [online]. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b1e2/eb9b0f24397f52256202e9271224c142ed2e.pdf.
[Accessed 16 April 2022].
Kurt, s., (2021)
Motivation. Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene
Theory: Two-factor [online]. Available
at;https://educationlibrary.org/herzbergs-motivation-hygiene-theory-two-factor/.
[Accessed on 05 May 2022]
Nickerson, C., (2021). Herzberg’s Motivation Two-Factor Theory [online].
Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/herzbergs-two-factor-theory.html.
[Accessed 16 April 2022].
Robbins, S. P.,
(2009) Organizational Behaviour.
South Africa, Pearson Education.
Robbins, S. P.,
Judge, T. A., (2013) Organizational
Behaviour (15th ed). USA, Pearson Education.
Ruthankoon, R., & Ogunlana, S. O. (2003). Testing Herzberg’s two-factor theory in the
Thai construction industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management. [online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239430835_Testing_Herzberg's_two-factor_theory_in_the_Thai_construction_industry.
[Accessed 16 April 2022].
Syptak, J. M. et al., (1999). Job Satisfaction: Putting Theory Into Practice [online]. Available
at: https://www.aafp.org/fpm/1999/1000/p26.html.
[Accessed 16 April 2022].
Hi Shalini, agree with what you have said in your post. Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs has clearly influenced the two-factor model of work and motivation and developed motivation-hygiene theory published in 1959 by Herzberg, Mausner and Snyderman (Jones, 2011). As per Alshmemri, M. Shahwan-Akl, L. and Maude, P., (2017) some factors leading to positive attitudes towards work, and others leading to negative attitudes is the main explanation of this theory.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment. Nilushi,
DeleteAccording to Syptak, Marsland, and Ulmer (1999), Herzberg developed this theory by asking his employees the two questions listed below.
1. Think of a time when you felt especially good about your job. Why did you feel that way?
2. Think of a time when you felt especially bad about your job. Why did you feel that way?
Hello Shalini, This article explains lot about Herzberg's two factor theory.It has been proved that the factors of work group interactions and co-worker’s support have significant positive correlation to job satisfaction (Yusoff, Kian, & Idris, 2013) which will definetely motivate employees to work inside the organization.Therefore it can also be considered as a motivator and the managers of a company should make their keen attention towards this factor as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Lakshan,
DeleteYes, it is important that organizations too help employees build a supportive environment among their co-workers. This can manifest itself in, for example, job-related interactions as well as social discussions in both the work environment and during informal break times (Nickerson, 2021).
Hi Shalini. Interesting post on the above theories. According to Misener & Cox (2001), these motivational factors and "dissatisfiers" (a lack of hygienic elements) are dynamic, continually interacting, extremely changeable, and dependent on the individual.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashanthi, Agreed with your comment. Also, this theory ignores blue-collar workers (Juneja, 2019)
DeleteHi Shalini, i am agree with the contents on two factor theory mentioned in your post.
ReplyDeleteThe traditional view of job satisfaction entails that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction exist on the same continuum; employees who lack reasons to be satisfied with their jobs must be dissatisfied (Robbins and Judge, 2013).
Herzberg et. al. (1959) argues that motivation factors are necessary to improve job satisfaction. These motivators, according to Herzberg, are intrinsic to the job and lead to job satisfaction because they satisfy needs for growth and self-actualization (Herzberg, 1966).
Critics have also noted that if hygiene and motivational factors are equally important to a person, then both should be capable of motivating employees (Robbins and Judge, 2013).
Hi Thanuja, Yes for some both the factors are equally important. The main problem with the Herzberg theory is that different people have different meaning when it comes to job satisfaction and that is not fully covered in the theory (Parikh, 2018)
DeleteHi Agreed with you Shalini , Herzberg proposed the two-factor hypothesis to investigate people's differing attitudes to situations when they feel good and unhappy about their professions (Dartey-Baah & Amoako, 2011).
ReplyDeleteHi Maheshani, As this theory investigate people's differing attitudes The Herzberg theory has been used as a method to explore job satisfaction among employees (Lundberg et al., 2009)
Delete