What are herzberg’s hygiene and motivational factors? how can managers use them to motivate workers?

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Intro to Herzberg’s Motivational Theory

In the 1950s and 60s, psychologist Frederick Herzberg tried to understand how companies can help their employees be more motivated at work. He ran a series of experiments to identify the causes of motivation by asking workers what made them happy vs. unhappy in their jobs.

Through this research, Herzberg identified key ‘motivators’ in the workplace and ‘demotivators’.

The motivators include:

• Advancement
• The nature of the work
• Responsibility
• Achievement
• Growth
• Recognition

The demotivators (hygiene factors) include:

• Company policies
• Quality of leadership
• Pay
• Relationships
• Work conditions
• Status
• Security

Herzberg tried to develop a simple tool from his research that could give a baseline for organizations to work from. Using Herzberg’s set of motivators and demotivators, companies have used the tool to create an ideal work environment for employees for many years.

Herzberg also concluded that there is no correlation between job dissatisfaction and job satisfaction. Therefore, only trying to eliminate common causes of dissatisfaction will not equate to employee satisfaction. Organizations have to both eliminate the demotivators and also work to increase the motivators in their organization.

Applying Herzberg’s Theory in the Workplace today

Here are some useful steps for implementing the Herzberg two factor theory as a way to increase employee motivation:

Remove the ‘hygiene’ factors first

The first step is to identify any demotivating factors in the workplace and remove them. This could be a toxic manager or employee, low compensation, poor work conditions, bad company policies, or a mixture of these things. Removing the hygiene items help get the organization to achieve that ‘neutral’ space. From this point, the organization can then work toward better employee motivation.

Focus on motivation and job enrichment

Think about the quality of employees’ jobs and how their work experience every day could be enriched. Also, leaders should come up with ways to give employees more autonomy and power over their work lives. As engagement is a key part of employee motivation, we have an article here on how to measure engagement the right way.

Talk to employees and team members

The Herzberg model is a great framework to work from, but don’t forget to ask for feedback from actual members of the company. Every employee is unique and will have individual motivating and demotivating factors. Asking these questions is essential to ensuring greater employee satisfaction in the workplace.

Be an example

When members of an organization see leaders overworking themselves, never taking any healthy time off, and perpetuating negativity in the workplace, it has a trickle-down effect. Try as you might to eliminate demotivators and figure out each employee motivators, these items will only go so far if leadership in the organization do not follow these patterns.

It’s important to be aware of the standards you’re setting for yourself as a leader because they are what lower management and employees will imitate.

Give a voice to employees

Let employees know you value their opinion by offering opportunities for feedback and to have a say in the company work culture. A huge motivator for employees is to feel seen and heard in their jobs, so making this a priority is important if you want to have a profitable company. 

Give employees more of a say in the workplace, and trust them to do their jobs effectively without micromanaging.

How Heartpace can help

Heartpace software can help your organization implement better employee motivation strategies by offering a robust solution. With Heartpace, getting your teams aligned, setting goals for your organization, and ensuring fair pay has never been easier. See what we can offer your organization and start building a better workplace today.

1. What are the basic components of Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory?

Another important contribution to our understanding of individual motivation came from Frederick Herzberg’s studies, which addressed the question, “What do people really want from their work experience?” In the late 1950s, Herzberg surveyed numerous employees to find out what particular work elements made them feel exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. The results indicated that certain job factors are consistently related to employee job satisfaction, while others can create job dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, motivating factors (also called job satisfiers) are primarily intrinsic job elements that lead to satisfaction. Hygiene factors (also called job dissatisfiers) are extrinsic elements of the work environment. A summary of motivating and hygiene factors appears in (Figure).

One of the most interesting results of Herzberg’s studies was the implication that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. Herzberg believed that proper management of hygiene factors could prevent employee dissatisfaction, but that these factors could not serve as a source of satisfaction or motivation. Good working conditions, for instance, will keep employees at a job but won’t make them work harder. But poor working conditions, which are job dissatisfiers, may make employees quit. According to Herzberg, a manager who wants to increase employee satisfaction needs to focus on the motivating factors, or satisfiers. A job with many satisfiers will usually motivate workers, provide job satisfaction, and prompt effective performance. But a lack of job satisfiers doesn’t always lead to dissatisfaction and poor performance; instead, a lack of job satisfiers may merely lead to workers doing an adequate job, rather than their best.

Exhibit 9.5 Flexibility has been a competitive advantage for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. Companies’ flexible work hours have been appealing to many workers who appreciate the flexibility that these jobs provide, either as a full-time job or a way to make supplemental income. According to Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, what effect might Uber and Lyft’s work environment have on employee? (Credit: Alfredo Mendez/ flickr/ Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0))

Although Herzberg’s ideas have been widely read and his recommendations implemented at numerous companies over the years, there are some very legitimate concerns about Herzberg’s work. Although his findings have been used to explain employee motivation, in fact his studies focused on job satisfaction, a different (though related) concept from motivation. Other criticisms focus on the unreliability of Herzberg’s methodology, the fact that the theory ignores the impact of situational variables, and the assumed relationship between satisfaction and productivity. Nevertheless, the questions raised by Herzberg about the nature of job satisfaction and the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on employee behavior have proved a valuable contribution to the evolution of theories of motivation and job satisfaction.

1. What is Herzberg’s theory, and how does it relate to an understanding of motivation?
2. How can a manager use an understanding of Herzberg’s theory to motivate employees?
3. What are the limitations of Herzberg’s theory?

1. What are the basic components of Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory?

Frederick Herzberg’s studies indicated that certain job factors are consistently related to employee job satisfaction whereas others can create job dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, motivating factors (also called satisfiers) are primarily intrinsic job elements that lead to satisfaction, such as achievement, recognition, the (nature of) work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth. What Herzberg termed hygiene factors (also called dissatisfiers) are extrinsic elements of the work environment such as company policy, relationships with supervisors, working conditions, relationships with peers and subordinates, salary and benefits, and job security. These are factors that can result in job dissatisfaction if not well managed. One of the most interesting results of Herzberg’s studies was the implication that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. Herzberg believed that proper management of hygiene factors could prevent employee dissatisfaction, but that these factors could not serve as a source of satisfaction or motivation.

hygiene factors Extrinsic elements of the work environment that do not serve as a source of employee satisfaction or motivation. motivating factors Intrinsic job elements that lead to worker satisfaction.