Two Factor Theory
Herzberg’s Motivation Theory model, or Two Factor Theory, argues
that there are two factors that an organization can adjust to influence
motivation in the workplace.
These factors are:
·
Motivators:
Which can encourage employees to work harder.
·
Hygiene factors: These won’t encourage employees to work harder but they will
cause them to become unmotivated if they are not present.
Note
Herzberg’s Motivation Theory
model goes by a number of different names, including Two Factor Theory,
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and Duel Structure Theory. We will use
these terms interchangeably in this article.
Frederick Herzberg developed
the model in 1959. He did this by interviewing over 200 professionals. The
interviews delved into when the interviewees were at their most and least
happiest with their jobs.
What is Two Factor Theory?
Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation tries to get to the root of
motivation in the workplace. You can leverage this theory to help you get the
best performance from your team.
The two factors identified by Herzberg are motivators and hygiene
factors.
1. Motivating Factors
The presence of motivators
causes employees to work harder. They are found within the actual job itself.
2. Hygiene Factors
The absence of hygiene factors will cause employees to work less
hard. Hygiene factors are not present in the actual job itself but surround the
job.
The impact of motivating and hygiene factors is summarized in the
following diagram. Note that you will often see motivators referred to as
factors for satisfaction, and hygiene factors referred to as factors for
dissatisfaction.
Examples of motivating and hygiene factors are shown in the
following diagram.
·
Achievement:
A job must give an employee a sense of achievement. This will provide a proud
feeling of having done something difficult but worthwhile.
·
Recognition:
A job must provide an employee with praise and recognition of their successes.
This recognition should come from both their superiors and their peers.
·
The work itself: The job itself must be interesting, varied, and provide enough
of a challenge to keep employees motivated.
·
Responsibility:
Employees should “own” their work. They should hold themselves responsible for
this completion and not feel as though they are being micromanaged.
·
Advancement:
Promotion opportunities should exist for the employee.
·
Growth: The job should give employees
the opportunity to learn new skills. This can happen either on the job or
through more formal training.
Hygiene factors include:
·
Company policies: These should be fair and clear to every employee. They must also
be equivalent to those of competitors.
·
Supervision:
Supervision must be fair and appropriate. The employee should be given as much
autonomy as is reasonable.
·
Relationships:
There should be no tolerance for bullying or cliques. A healthy, amiable, and
appropriate relationship should exist between peers, superiors, and
subordinates.
·
Work conditions: Equipment and the working environment should be safe, fit for
purpose, and hygienic.
·
Salary: The pay structure should be
fair and reasonable. It should also be competitive with other organizations in
the same industry.
·
Status: The organization should
maintain the status of all employees within the organization. Performing
meaningful work can provide a sense of status.
·
Security: It is important that
employees feel that their job is secure and they are not under the constant threat
of being laid-off.
The Four Stats
In a general sense, there are
four states an organization or team can find themselves in when it comes to Two
Factor Theory.
1. High Hygiene and High
Motivation
This is the ideal situation and the one which every manager should
strive for. Here, all employees are motivated and have very few grievances.
2. High Hygiene and Low
Motivation
In this situation, employees
have few grievances but they are not highly motivated. An example of this
situation is where pay and working conditions are competitive but the work
isn’t very interesting. Employees are simply there to collect their salary.
3. Low Hygiene and High
Motivation
In this situation, employees are highly motivated but they have a
lot of grievances. A typical example of this situation is where the work is
exciting and really interesting but the pay and conditions are behind
competitors in the same industry.
4. Low Hygiene and Low
Motivation
This is obviously a bad
situation for an organization or team to find itself in. Here, employees aren’t
motivated and the hygiene factors are not up to scratch.
How to Use The Model
There is a two-step process to use the Two Factor Theory model to
increase the motivation of your team.
1.
Eliminate job hygiene stressors.
2.
Boost job satisfaction.
1. Eliminate Job Hygiene
Stressors
The first step to enhancing the motivation of your team is to
ensure that the hygiene factors are not causing dissatisfaction.
Each person will examine hygiene factors through their own unique
frame of reference. Because of this, it’s important to work with each member of
your team to understand their specific perspective.
Some common steps to remove hygiene stressors are:
·
Rectify petty and bureaucratic company policies.
·
Ensure each team member feels supported without feeling
micromanaged. You can do this by using servant leadership or a democratic leadership style.
·
Ensure the day to day working culture is supportive. No bullying.
No cliques. Everyone treated with equal respect.
·
Ensure that salaries are competitive within the industry. Ensure
there are no major salary disparities between employees doing similar jobs.
·
To increase job satisfaction and status, aim to construct jobs in
such a way that each team member finds their job meaningful.
2.
Boost Job Satisfaction
Once you have removed hygiene stressors, the next step is to boost
the job satisfaction of each team member. We can do this by improving the
actual content of the job itself. Again, a unique approach for each employee
will be required.
Three techniques which can be used to achieve this are:
a.
Job Enrichment
Job enrichment means enriching a team member’s job by giving them
more challenging or complex tasks to perform. These more complex tasks should
make the job more interesting.
b.
Job Enlargement
Job enlargement means giving a team member a greater variety of
tasks to perform. This variety can also make a job more interesting.
Note that with job enlargement the variety of tasks is increased,
but not the difficulty of those tasks. If difficulty increased then that would
be job enrichment.
c.
Employee Empowerment
Employee empowerment means deligating increasing responsibility to
each team member. This can be done by slowly increasing the amount of
responsibility you delegate to an employee.
Limitations
of the Theory
Some common criticisms of Herzberg’s Motivation Theory include:
·
The theory only applies to white collar workers.
·
It doesn’t take an individuals situation or perception into
consideration. We have attempted to address this above by applying the theory
at an individual level.
·
The theory focuses on improving employee satisfaction. That
doesn’t necessarily translate into increased productivity.
·
There is no objective way to measure employee satisfaction within
the theory.
·
Two Factor Theory is subject to bias. For example, when an
employee is satisfied they will give themselves credit for that satisfaction.
Conversely, when they are dissatisfied they will blame external factors.
Summary
Herzberg’s Motivation Theory model, or Two Factor Theory, provides
two factors that affect motivation in the workplace.
These factors are hygiene factors and motivating factors. Hygiene
factors will cause an employee to work less if not present. Motivating factors
will encourage an employee to work harder if present.
To use the theory within your team, start by getting any hygiene
issues resolved. Once you have done this, you can boost motivation by putting
in place as many motivating factors as practical.
Source: expertprogrammanagement
