Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000)
American expert in motivation (pictured right), famous for his “motivator-hygiene” theory of
motivation (see below).
His interest in motivation was triggered by seeing the Dachau concentration camp as a soldier in the Second
World War.
He wanted to keep “the sane people sane” at work.
Key books and articles
The Motivation to Work
(1959), written with Bernard Mausner and Barbara
Snyderman
Five motivator factors (related to a fulfilling
job) increase job satisfaction and motivation. They lead to job enrichment:
1. Achievement
Quality performance.
2. Recognition for achievement
Feedback on performance.
3. The work itself
Doing a job for people, or clients, inside and outside the organization.
4. Responsibility
- control over work and resources.
- authority to communicate with clients.
5. Advancement and growth
Learning new skills and knowledge.
Hygienes (or hygiene
factors)
These relate to the work environment
They rarely motivate but, if inadequate, cause dissatisfaction with work and mental illness.
These hygiene factors are
- company policy and administration.
- relationship with your boss, colleagues and subordinates.
Key quotes on
motivation
The greatest fulfilment of man is to be found in activities that are meaningfully
related to his own needs as well as those of society.
Feelings of unhappiness... were not associated with the job itself but with
conditions that surround the doing of the job.
Salary...is primarily a dissatisfier.
One More Time: How Do You Motivate
Employees? (1968 Harvard Business Review article)
The best motivation is self-motivation i.e. you do something because you want to do
it.
So motivation doesn’t come from “positive KITA (kick in the ass)” i.e. hygiene factors
like money.
The impact of hygiene factors on attitudes is short-term, because they have to be continually applied
with negligible effect on motivation.
The only way to motivate people is to apply the five motivator factors (listed above)
through continuous job enrichment (or vertical job loading).
Motivation and job dissatisfaction are caused by different factors
So the “opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction [i.e. motivation], but no
dissatisfaction”.
Key quotes on
motivation
Why is KITA not motivation? If I kick my dog... he will move. And when I want him to move, what do I do? I must
kick him again.
Job enrichment will not be a one-time proposition but a continuous management function.
The very nature of motivators, as opposed to hygiene factors, is that they have a much longer-term effect on
employees’ attitudes.
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