There are many different theories about motivating employees. It’s a topic that involves most company’s profitability directly. Many different people have developed ideas about the answer to the question of motivation. Frederick Herzberg was among them.

Frederick Herzberg divided employee satisfaction into two categories.  One category is Motivation Factors which consist of benefits that motivate employees and increase job satisfaction.  These factors include achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, growth, and the work itself.  If a job lacks these qualities, it doesn’t automatically mean that employees are dissatisfied, but employee satisfaction increases when they are present.

The other category is called Hygiene Factors.  They include:  supervision, working conditions, interpersonal relationships, pay, job security, and company policies and administration.  If a job includes these things at an agreeable level, then there is less dissatisfaction amongst employees, but just because these things are present doesn’t mean that employees are motivated.

Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory changed corporate thinking about employee satisfaction.  Before his theory, managers thought that satisfaction and dissatisfaction were caused by varying levels of the same factors.  By applying his theory, employee satisfaction can be increased on both a short-term and long-term basis.  Although there will never come a time when there is NO DISSATISFACTION, meeting hygiene demands decreases dissatisfaction.  This provides a short-term improvement in employee motivation.  Thus, the long-term benefits come from increasing motivation factors.  For maximum satisfaction, an employer should meet both hygiene demands and motivation factor demands.