Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

The theory is also known as the two-factor theory, which focuses on hygiene and motivational elements (Varma, 2017) According to the theory, there are some organizational environment variables that, if present, will stimulate employees, and others that, if present, may gratify people but do not necessarily result in unhappiness (Varma, 2017) 

Herzberg and colleagues (1957) and Herzberg (1968) distinguished two types of motivators: "hygiene" factors and motivators (Mansaray, 2019) The two-factor model of satisfiers and dissatisfiers, as well as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, are also used (Mansaray, 2019) Intrinsic motivation is defined as any activity undertaken for the direct satisfaction of one's needs (Mansaray, 2019) Intrinsic motivation produces happy feelings or a positive attitude in the worker and is task-related, such as' recognition of task completion (Mansaray, 2019)  'Wages, good working conditions, good company policy and administration, good relationships with supervisors and peers, and job security are all hygiene factors (Mansaray, 2019) 

Similarity Between Two-Factor Theory & Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The Two-Factor Theory is similar to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but it includes more factors to assess how employees are motivated at work (Wan Yusoff, et al., 2013) According to this theory, meeting individuals' lower-level needs (extrinsic or hygiene factors) would not motivate them to exert effort, but would only keep them from being dissatisfied. Higher-level needs (intrinsic or motivation factors) must be met in order to motivate employees (Wan Yusoff, et al., 2013) The implication for organizations that use this theory is that meeting employees' extrinsic or hygiene factors will only keep them from becoming actively dissatisfied, but will not motivate them to put in extra effort toward better performance (Wan Yusoff, et al., 2013) Organizations should focus on providing intrinsic or motivation factors to motivate employees (Robbins, 2009) (Wan Yusoff, et al., 2013)


Figure 4: Relating Maslow and Herzberg theory


There were 16 separate job elements; 10 of them were categorized as hygiene factors and six as motivators (Ansari, 2019) The study's findings showed that motivators were connected to high sentiments of job satisfaction in 78 percent of the responses to high questions, whereas hygiene elements were only somewhat responsible in 22% of the responses. In contrast to motivators, which were linked to bad feelings just 38% of the time, hygiene variables were related to low feelings 62% of the time (Ansari, 2019) Therefore, for the accountants, elements that were largely associated to positive sentiments were determined to be motivating, whereas factors that were primarily related to negative feelings were determined to be hygienic factors (Ansari, 2019)

Motivate Factors

Employees are motivated by factors such as salary increases and a pleasant working environment (Jain, et al., 2019)

Hygiene Factors

Employees can be demotivated by factors such as company policies, salary deduction, and an unhealthy relationship with managers and coworkers (Jain, et al., 2019)


Diagrams of Herzberg two factor theory Source: Datuk Dr. Mahamad Zubir bin Seeht Saad 2018


References

Ansari, S., 2019. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science Engineering MGT. AN EVALUATION OF THE EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION BASED ON TWO FACTORS THEORIES, 8(10), pp. 1-48.

Jain, D. . A., Gupta, D. B. & Bindal, D. M., 2019. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research. A Study of Employee Motivation in Organization, 9(6), pp. 65-68.

Mansaray, H. E., 2019. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal) Humanities and Social Sciences. The Role of Human Resource Management in Employee Motivation and Performance-An Overview, 2(3)(2019), pp. 183-194.

Varma, C., 2017. International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research. IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION & JOB SATISFACTION FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE, 6(2)(2017), pp. 10-20.

Wan Yusoff, W. F., Kian, T. S. & Mohammad Idris, M. T., 2013. Global Journal of Commerce & Management Perspective. HERZBERG’S TWO FACTORS THEORY ON WORK MOTIVATION: DOES ITS WORK FOR TODAYS ENVIRONMENT?, 2(5)(2013), pp. 18-22.



Comments

  1. Sachini Nagahawatta3 December 2022 at 09:27

    Good content on Two Factor Theory Farhan. According to Yusoff et al (2013), Fredrick Herzberg’s well-known Two-factor theory was designed in the year 1959. This model was developed following an investigation into the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of accounts and engineers (Armstrong, 2009). Based on two hundred engineers and accountant feedback collected in the USA regarding their personal feelings towards their working environments, Herzberg defined two sets of factors in deciding employees working attitudes and level of performance, named Motivation & Hygiene Factors (Yusoff, 2013).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Romeda Wijewardene5 December 2022 at 22:50

    Agreed on the content Farhan. According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, completing the hygiene requirements is not enough to make an employee happy; rather, doing so will simply keep them from becoming unhappy (Yousuf et al, 2013). However, the level of employee motivation differs from one organization to another, and although one culture may identify a motivator, it can also be a de-motivator in another company's culture (Al-Akeel & Jahangir, 2020).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MHM Farhan10 December 2022 at 08:52

      Agreed in another way Herzberg's (1957, 1966) two-factor model of motivation was based on an investigation into the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among accountants and engineers who were asked what made them feel exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about their jobs. According to Herzberg, this study discovered two factors that influenced feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Armstrong, 2014)

      Delete
  3. Romeda Wijewardene5 December 2022 at 23:02

    Agreed on the content Farhan, According to Herzberg's two factor theory completing the hygiene requirements is not enough to make an employee unhappy, rather doing so will simply keep them form becoming unhappy (Yousuf et al., 2013). However, the level of employee motivation differs from one organization to another and although one culture may identify a motivator it can be a de motivator in another company's Culture (Al-Akeel & Jahangir,2020).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MHM Farhan10 December 2022 at 08:53

      Agreed in another way Herzberg's (1957, 1966) two-factor model of motivation was based on an investigation into the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among accountants and engineers who were asked what made them feel exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about their jobs. According to Herzberg, this study discovered two factors that influenced feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Armstrong, 2014)

      Delete
  4. Safiya Ameen13 December 2022 at 12:20

    Nicely written Farhan, the most valuable contribution to come out of the two-factor theory was the idea of job enrichment. As the nature of the jobs continues to change rapidly due to the changes in the world. It is a common factor that the organizations should use their human resources wisely to ensure that the right people are in the right job at the right time and being used to the best of their potential (Stello, 2011).

    ReplyDelete

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