Using Herzberg's Motivators and Hygiene Factors

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Do you know what motivates your team members to give their best? Is it money, job security, opportunities for growth or something else?

In the 1950s psychologist, Frederick Herzberg [1] set out to answer that very question. He wanted to know what factors created job satisfaction and how it impacted people's motivation. So he asked them to describe situations where they felt really good and really bad about their work. And he found that certain characteristics of a job consistently related to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

Herzberg called the factors that increased satisfaction motivators. These are the things like achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth.

Conversely, the factors that lead to dissatisfaction are called hygiene factors. These are company policies, level of supervision, relationships with supervisors and peers, work conditions, salary, status, and security.

What's interesting about Herzberg's findings is that addressing the causes of dissatisfaction does not in itself automatically create satisfaction. In fact, increasing satisfaction is a two-step process, which involves first eliminating the hygiene factors and then focusing on the motivators that make people happy at work.

To reduce dissatisfaction in your team, make sure that everyone has meaningful work to do and that their wages are competitive. Also, make it a priority to develop a team culture that is built on respect and dignity. Check in with your people to ensure they're being treated fairly and respectfully, and that they're not being held back by unnecessary red tape.

Next, consider how you can boost motivation factors to create job satisfaction. Herzberg called this job enrichment. Create opportunities for achievement in your team. Do this by giving people as much responsibility as possible and offer them training and development pathways that will help them to advance their careers.

Finally celebrate their achievements and recognize and reward the contribution that each person makes to your organization. If you do this regularly you might be amazed by the impact that it has on your team's motivation, performance and productivity.

To learn more about how to motivate your team, read the article that accompanies this video.