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Herzberg’s Motivation Two-

Factor Theory
Key Takeaways
 The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene
theory) argues that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction exist on two
different continua, each with its own set of factors. This runs contrary to
the traditional view of job satisfaction, which posits that job satisfaction
and dissatisfaction are interdependent.
 Herzberg and his collaborators investigated fourteen factors relating to job
satisfaction in their original study, classifying them as either hygienic or
motivation factors. Motivation factors increase job satisfaction while the
presence of hygiene factors prevent job dissatisfaction.
 Although largely replaced by newer theories of motivation in academia, the
two-factor motivation theory still continues to influence popular
management theory and the methodology of studies in some areas of the
world.
What is Two-Factor Theory?
The two-factor motivation theory, otherwise known as Herzberg’s motivation-
hygiene theory or dual-factor theory, argues that there are separate sets of
mutually exclusive factors in the workplace that either cause job satisfaction or
dissatisfaction (Herzberg, 1966; 1982; 1991; Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman,
1959)
Generally, these factors encouraging job satisfaction relate to self-growth and
self-actualization.
To Herzberg, motivators ensured job satisfaction while a lack of hygiene factors
spawned job satisfaction.

The two-factor motivation theory has since become one of the most commonly
used theoretical frameworks in job satisfaction research (Dion, 2006).
The major mid-twentieth century researchers in motivation — Maslow (1954),
Herzberg, Vroom (1964), Alderfer (1972), McCalland (1961), and Locke et al.
(1981) — devised research which Basset-Jones and Lloyd argue can be divided
into content and process theories of motivation.
Content theories, such as Herzberg et al.’s (1959), assume a complex interaction
between internal and external factors, and explore the circumstances under
which people respond to different internal and external stimuli.
Meanwhile, process theories, such as that of Vroom (1964), consider how factors
internal to the person lead to different behaviors.

Herzberg’s Approach
Frederick Herzberg and his two collaborators, Mausner and Snyderman
developed the motivation-hygiene theory in their book, Motivation to Work.
Influenced by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Jones, 2011), Herzberg concluded
that satisfaction and dissatisfaction could not be measured reliably on the same
continuum and conducted a series of studies where he attempted to determine
what factors in work environments cause satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Herzberg and his colleagues explored the impact of fourteen factors on job satisfaction and
dissatisfaction in terms of their frequency and duration of impact (Bassett-Jones and Lloyd,
2005).
In the first of these studies, Heizberg asked 13 labourers, clerical workers, foreman, plant
engineers and accountants to describe, in detail, situations where they felt exceptionally good or
bad about their jobs (Robbins and Judge, 2013).
Generally, respondents, when describing situations where they felt good about their jobs, cited
factors intrinsic to their work while those describing situations where they felt bad about their
jobs cited extrinsic factors.
Herzberg (1959) considers two types of factors that can add to or detract from job satisfaction:
hygiene and motivation factors.

While hygiene factors are related to “the need to avoid unpleasantness,”

motivation factors more directly lead to job satisfaction because of “the need of
the individual for self-growth and self-actualization.”
The 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).
However, hygiene and motivational factors are distinct. To Herzberg, the
opposite of job satisfaction was not job dissatisfaction, but no job satisfaction.
Conversely, the opposite of job dissatisfaction is no job dissatisfaction (Kacel et
al., 2005).
These two separate continua of job satisfaction and job satisfaction support the
possibility that someone can be content with certain aspects of their jobs but
discontent with others.
Perhaps more pessimistically, this also has the implication that simply
eliminating “dissatisfiers” would not necessarily lead to job satisfaction so much
as placation (motivational concepts).
These so-called “satisfiers” (motivational factors) and “dissatisfiers” (a lack of
hygiene factors) are dynamic, constantly interacting, highly subject to change,
and relative to the employee (Misener and Cox, 2001).
Certain satisfiers or dissatisfiers may be more important than others in a way that
depends on personal and professional contexts.
Whether or not dissatisfiers outweigh satisfiers predict, according to Herzberg,
whether employees find their job interesting and enjoyable as well as their
likelihood of remaining at their current jobs (Kacel et al., 2005).
Motivation Factors
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).
In his original paper, Herzberg examines 14 motivational and hygiene factors, of
which these are notable examples:

 Advancement: Herzberg defined advancement as the upward and

positive status or position of someone in a workplace. Meanwhile, a
negative or neutral status at work represents negative advancement
(Alshmemri et al., 2017, 2017).
 The work itself: The content of job tasks in itself can have positive or
negative effects on employees. The job’s difficulty and level of engagement
can dramatically impact satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the workplace
(Alshmemri et al., 2017, 2017).
 Possibility for growth: Possibilities for growth exist in the same vein as
Maslow’s self actualization; they are opportunities for a person to
experience personal growth and promotion in the workplace. Personal
growth can result in professional growth, increased opportunities to
develop new skills and techniques, and gaining professional knowledge
(Alshmemri et al., 2017, 2017).
 Responsibility: Responsibility encompasses both the responsibilities
held by the individual and the authority granted to the individual in their
role. People gain satisfaction from being given the responsibility and
authority to make decisions. Conversely, a mismatch between
responsibility and level of authority negatively affects job satisfaction
(Alshmemri et al., 2017, 2017).
 Recognition: When employees receive praise or rewards for reaching
goals at their job or for producing high-quality work, they receive
recognition. Negative recognition involves criticisms or blame for a poorly-
done job (Alshmemri et al., 2017, 2017).
 Achievement : Positive achievement can involve, for example,
completing a difficult task on time, solving a job-related problem, or seeing
positive results from one’s work. Negative achievement includes failure to
make progress at work or poor job-related decision making (Alshmemri et
al., 2017, 2017).
Hygiene Factors
Hygiene factors are those which decrease job dissatisfaction. Herzberg, Mausner
and Snyderman used the term hygiene in reference to “medical hygiene…[which]
operates to remove health hazards from the environment” (1959; Alshmemri et
al., 2017).
Herzberg also states that hygiene factors are extrinsic to the job, and function in
“the need to avoid unpleasantness” (Herzberg, 1966).
Hygiene factors, rather than relating to the content of the job in itself, tend to
relate to contextual factors such as interpersonal relations, salary, company
policies and administration, relationship with supervisors and working
conditions:

 Interpersonal relations: Interpersonal relationships involve the personal

and working relationships between an employee and his supervisors,
subordinates, and peers. This can manifest in, for example, job-related
interactions as well as social discussions in both the work environment and
during informal break times.
 : Salary Salary includes wage or salary increases, and negatively, unfulfilled
expectations of wage or salary increases (Alshmemri et al., 2017).
 Company policies and administration: Company policies and
administration includes factors such as the extent to which company
organization and management policies and guidelines are clear or unclear.
For example, a lack of delegation of authority, vague policies and
procedures and communication may lead to job dissatisfaction (Alshmemri
et al., 2017).
 Supervision: Supervision involves an employee’s judgements of the
competence or incompetence and fairness or unfairness of the supervisor
or supervisions. For example, this could include a supervisor's willingness
to delegate responsibility or to feach, as well as their knowledge of the job
at hand. Poor leadership and management can decrease job dissatisfaction
(Alshmemri et al., 2017).
 Working conditions: Finally, working conditions involve the physical
surroundings of the job and whether or not they are good or poor. Factors
leading to a good or poor workspace could involve the amount of work,
space, ventilation, tools, temperature, and safety (Alshmemri et al., 2017).
Herzberg's Motivators and
Hygiene Factors
Learn How to Motivate Your Team
 
What do people want from their jobs? Do they just want a higher salary? Or
do they want security, good relationships with co-workers, opportunities for
growth and advancement – or something else altogether?

This is an important question, because it's at the root of motivation - the art of
engaging with members of your team in such a way that they give their very
best performance.

The psychologist Frederick Herzberg asked the same question in the 1950s
and 60s as a means of understanding employee satisfaction. He set out to
determine the effect of attitude on motivation, by asking people to describe
situations where they felt really good, and really bad, about their jobs. What
he found was that people who felt good about their jobs gave very different
responses from the people who felt bad.
These results form the basis of Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory
(sometimes known as Herzberg's Two Factor Theory). Published in his
famous article, "One More Time: How do You Motivate Employees," the
conclusions he drew were extraordinarily influential, and still form the bedrock
of good motivational practice nearly half a century later.

Motivation-Hygiene Theory
Herzberg's findings revealed that certain characteristics of a job are
consistently related to job satisfaction, while different factors are associated
with job dissatisfaction. These are:
 Factors for Satisfaction Factors for Dissatisfaction

Company policies

Achievement Supervision

Recognition Relationship with supervisor and peers

The work itself Work conditions

Responsibility Salary

Advancement Status

Growth Security

The conclusion he drew is that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are not
opposites.

 The opposite of Satisfaction is No Satisfaction.

 The opposite of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction.
Remedying the causes of dissatisfaction will not create satisfaction. Nor will
adding the factors of job satisfaction eliminate job dissatisfaction. If you have
a hostile work environment, giving someone a promotion will not make him or
her satisfied. If you create a healthy work environment but do not provide
members of your team with any of the satisfaction factors, the work they're
doing will still not be satisfying.

According to Herzberg, the factors leading to job satisfaction are "separate

and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction." Therefore, if you set
about eliminating dissatisfying job factors, you may create peace but not
necessarily enhance performance. This placates your workforce instead of
actually motivating them to improve performance.

The characteristics associated with job dissatisfaction are called hygiene

factors. When these have been adequately addressed, people will not be
dissatisfied nor will they be satisfied. If you want to motivate your team, you
then have to focus on satisfaction factors like achievement, recognition and
responsibility.
Note:
Despite its wide acceptance, the theory has its detractors. Some say its
methodology does not address the notion that, when things are going well,
people tend to look at the things they enjoy about their job. When things are
going badly, however, they tend to blame external factors.

Another common criticism is the fact that the theory assumes a strong
correlation between job satisfaction and productivity. Herzberg's
methodology did not address this relationship, therefore this assumption
needs to be correct for his findings to have practical relevance.
To apply the theory, you need to adopt a two-stage process to motivate
people. Firstly, you need to eliminate the dissatisfaction they're experiencing
and, secondly, you need to help them find satisfaction.

Step One: Eliminate Job Dissatisfaction

Herzberg called the causes of dissatisfaction "hygiene factors." To get rid of
them, you need to:

 Fix poor and obstructive company policies.

 Provide effective, supportive and non-intrusive supervision.
 Create and support a culture of respect and dignity for all team
members.
 Ensure that wages are competitive.
 Build job status by providing meaningful work for all positions.
 Provide job security.
All of these actions help you eliminate job dissatisfaction in your organization.
And there's no point trying to motivate people until these issues are out of the
way!

You can't stop there, though. Remember, just because someone is not
dissatisfied, it doesn't mean he or she is satisfied either! Now you have to turn
your attention to building job satisfaction.
Step Two: Create Conditions for Job Satisfaction
To create satisfaction, Herzberg says you need to address the motivating
factors associated with work. He called this "job enrichment." His premise was
that every job should be examined to determine how it could be made better
and more satisfying to the person doing the work. Things to consider include:

 Providing opportunities for achievement.

 Recognizing people's contributions.
 Creating work that is rewarding and that matches people's skills and
abilities.
 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 within the company.

Tip 1:
Here we're approaching the subject of motivation in a very general way. In
reality, you'll need "different strokes for different folks" – in other words,
different people will perceive different issues, and will be motivated by
different things. Make sure you talk with your people regularly one-on-one to
find out what matters to them.

Tip 2:
This theory is largely responsible for the practice of allowing people greater
responsibility for planning and controlling their work, as a means of
increasing motivation and satisfaction. To learn more about this, see the Mind
Tools article on job enrichment .
Key Points
The relationship between motivation and job satisfaction is not overly
complex. The problem is that many employers look at the hygiene factors as
ways to motivate when, in fact, beyond the very short term, they do very little
to motivate.
Perhaps managers like to use this approach because they think people are
more financially motivated than, perhaps, they are, or perhaps it just takes
less management effort to raise wages than it does to reevaluate company
policy, and redesign jobs for maximum satisfaction.

When you're seeking to motivate people, firstly get rid of the things that are
annoying them about the company and the workplace. Make sure they're
treated fairly, and with respect.

Once you've done this, look for ways in which you can help people grow
within their jobs, give them opportunities for achievement, and praise that
achievement wherever you find it.
Apply This to Your Life
If you lead a team, take a little time with each of its members to check that
they're happy, that they think they're being fairly and respectfully treated, and
that they're not being affected by unnecessary bureaucracy.

You may be horrified by what you find once you start probing (bureaucracy, in
particular, has a way of spreading), however, you may be able to improve
things quickly if you put your mind to it.

Then find out what they want from their jobs, do what you can to give this to
them, and help them grow as individuals.

If you do this systematically, you'll be amazed by the impact this has on

motivation!