Tuesday, 3 September 2019

Herzberg – Two factor theory


Herzberg – Two factor theory

Herzberg (1987) referred to those things that influenced job satisfaction as 'Motivating Factors,' whilst he called those that influenced dissatisfaction at work 'Hygiene Factors

Figure 1.3

(Source:Herzberg 1987)

The hygiene factors include; company policy and administration, technical supervision, interpersonal relations with supervisor, interpersonal relations with peers and subordinates, salary, job security, personal life, work conditions and status (Herzberg 1987). These factors are not directly related to the job but the conditions that surround doing the job.  However, the presence of such conditions does not necessarily build strong motivation, (Gibson 2000).

Herzberg hygiene factors, since they are necessary to maintain a reasonable level of satisfaction and can also cause dissatisfaction. The hygiene factors are not direct motivators but are necessary to prevent dissatisfaction and at the same time serve as a starting point for motivation. However, improvements in these conditions do not create motivation, (Hulling 2003).

In contrast, motivators are factors that are intrinsic to the job, such as achievement, recognition, interesting work, increased responsibilities, advancement, and growth opportunities. According to Herzberg’s research, motivators are the conditions that truly encourage employees to try harder. Motivational factors, on the other hand, can increase job satisfaction, and motivation is based on an individual's need for personal growth Herzberg (1987). If these elements are effective, then they can motivate an individual to achieve above-average performance and effort. For example, having responsibility or achievement can cause satisfaction (human characteristics) (Dartey-Baah, 2011).

These two factors apply to workplace comprehensive pay and benefit programs, developing team building workshops, and creating ways to identify good performance. Be competitive in recruiting, and people will motivate you to stay and stay loyal (George 2005).

In the banking sector, high level management has to manage hygiene and motivator factors. To eliminate the job dissatisfaction the banks are doing the following:

·       Fix poor and obstructive company policies.
·        Provide effective, supportive and non-intrusive supervision.
·        Create and support the culture of respect and dignity for all team members.
·        Ensure that wages and salaries are competitive.
·        Provide job security.
·        Build job status by providing meaningful work for all positions.


The above actions help in eliminating job dissatisfaction in organizations and there is no point trying to motivate people or employees until these issues are addressed. Addressing the above issues should not be an end in itself but rather managers are to be aware that just because someone is not dissatisfied does not mean one is satisfied either. It is crucial in the work environment to identify conditions for job satisfaction (Dartey 2011).

 In other hands to motivate the employees, mangers need to consider the following:

·        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 positions they want.


Motivation and job satisfaction is not overly complex. The problem is many employers and managers look at the hygiene factors as a way to motivate when in fact, beyond the very short term, they do very little to motivate (Hayday (2003).

 List of References:
Dartey, B. (2011), Application of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory in assessing and understanding employee motivation at work,Vol 3. European Journal of Business and Management.

George, J. M. & Jones, G. R. (2005), “Understanding and managing organisational behavior”, (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson Prentice, New York: McGraw-Hill.

Gibson, J., Ivanevich, L., John, M. & Donnelly, J. H. (2000), “Organisations-Behaviour- StructureProcesses”’ 10th Edition. Boston. McGraw-Hill.

Herzberg, F. (2005). Motivation-hygiene theory Organizational behavior one: Essential theories of motivation and leadership, eds JB Miner, ME Sharpe Inc, New York, 61-74.



20 comments:

  1. I agree with above content. Adding to above, full supply of Hygiene Factors will not necessary result in employees’ job satisfaction. In order to increase employees’ performance or productivity, Motivation factors must be addressed (Wan et al, 2013).

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    1. Agreed.some Hygiene factors are not directly related to the motivation but indirectly help for the motivation (Gibson 2000).

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  2. Agreed on the above contents, The difference between the other with two factors theory is the role of employee expectations. Herzberg believes that there is an inverse association between intrinsic incentives and extrinsic incentives. That is, when intrinsic incentives exist, they tend to Increase incentives, and when external incentives do not exist, they tend to reduce incentives because employees' expectations of external incentives (such as wages, benefits) are predictable, so when they exist, they do not increase incentives But when they don't exist, they can cause dissatisfaction(Owen, 2018).

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    1. Herzberg developed the theory that people’s job satisfaction depends on two kinds of factors. Factors for satisfaction (motivators/satisfiers) and factors for dissatisfaction (hygiene factors/ dissatisfiers).

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  3. 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. Organisations and their managers want teams with the best possible performance. But how do you motivate that team? There’s not much point in motivating employees if the hygiene factors aren’t taken care off. Motivating people really works when the things that bother them – the things they complain about -disappear.

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  4. According to Spector (1997), based on people liking or disliking there jobs are defined as job satisfaction whereas has a positive influences in employee commitment and organizational performance (levy, 2003) and has a negative influence on non-appearance and turnover intentions (Yousef, 2000).

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    1. If management wants to increase employees’ job satisfaction, they should be concerned with the nature of the work itself—the opportunities it presents employees for gaining status, assuming responsibility, and achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand, management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then it must focus on the job environment—policies, procedures, supervision, and working conditions. To ensure a satisfied and productive workforce, managers must pay attention to both sets of job factors.

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  5. Herzberg et al (1957) clearly states that the hygiene factors does not necessarily motivate the employee to perform better. What is does is, it prevents dissatisfaction and lesser than expected job performance.

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    1. According to Herzberg, intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators have an inverse relationship. That is, intrinsic motivators tend to increase motivation when they are present, while extrinsic motivators tend to reduce motivation when they are absent.

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  6. Hi Radchika. While the two factor theory has many practical implications, it is not without its flaws. For example, as mentioned by Kunchala (2017) an inexperienced employee could perceive job security as a hygiene factor, whereas a more experienced employee would see it as a motivator. Hence, factors that motivate can change during an individual's lifetime. Moreover, the theory overlooks situational variables.

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    1. Agreed.The biggest disadvantage of this theory is that it is not necessary that satisfied employees will lead to increase in productivity in the company as job satisfaction is one of the factors behind the increase in job productivity but not the only factor. Hence in simple words, if the company is thinking that an increase in job satisfaction will lead to an increase in job productivity then it may set itself for disappointment.

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  7. This theory is well explained and further I would like to add the following. After the two-factor theory was proposed, Herzberg corroborated it by showing a combination of 1 different investigation and one successful application in a very large corporation (Herzberg, 1968).

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    1. The first and foremost advantage of this theory of motivation is that it lays emphasis on motivation coming from within the employees themselves rather than focusing on other external factors. Hence in simple words company by adopting this theory ensures that on the part of the company it can improve its working environment and conditions so that employees feel motivated to work hard which in the long term will benefit the company as a whole.

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  8. Hi Radchika! Herzberg's two factor theory can be utilized as an important tool in HRM. However, Basset-Jones and Lloyd (2005) states that despite the common view, the reputation of one's in an organization and the financial benefits might be second to the intrinsic feelings' accomplishment.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Agreed.Two factors apply to workplace comprehensive pay and benefit programs, developing team building workshops, and creating ways to identify good performance. Be competitive in recruiting, and people will motivate you to stay and stay loyal (George 2005).

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  9. The factors related to ‘the need to avoid unpleasantness’, and is known as hygiene factors. Hygiene factors included company policies and administration, relationship with supervisors, interpersonal relations, working conditions and salary (Herzberg, 1966; Herzberg, 2003). Motivation factors led to positive job attitudes and hygiene factors surrounded the ‘doing’ of the job (Herzberg et al., 1959; Stello, 2011).

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    Replies
    1. Herzberg developed the theory that people’s job satisfaction depends on two kinds of factors. Factors for satisfaction (motivators/satisfiers) and factors for dissatisfaction (hygiene factors/ dissatisfiers).

      Delete
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