Conceptual Framework: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Motivation Theory The management theorist Frederick Herzberg, writing in the 1950s, conceptualized job satisfaction and motivation as encompassing two dimensions. The first factor pertained to hygiene, which Herzberg defined as essential components of the workplace that were not intrinsically motivating to stimulate the employee to perform at a higher level, but which were still necessary to create a healthy attitude towards work. Hygiene factors include salary, benefits, working conditions, policies, the quality of the supervision, and the quality of interpersonal relations with colleagues. (Syptak, Marsland, & Ulmer, 1999). Motivational factors, however, include the intrinsic rewards of the work itself and the delights of taking on additional responsibilities. “Motivators…create satisfaction by fulfilling individuals' needs for meaning and personal growth” (Syptak, et al., 1999, p.26). It must be stressed the Herzberg believed that hygiene factors must be addressed; employees cannot be expected to endure intolerable conditions and be motivated by statements by the company about its higher vision. But an ideal motivational environment will encompass both factors.

Herzberg identifies a variety of workplace...

The ideal setting is one with high levels of hygiene and motivation, in which employees can perform at their maximum capacity (“Herzberg’s Motivation Theory,” 2018). Another setting is one with high levels of hygiene but low motivation—in other words, the pay and working conditions are adequate, but there is little effort to make employees feel engaged in their work (“Herzberg’s Motivation Theory,” 2018). Employees may seem complacent in this situation, even though it is not unpleasant. In contrast, workplaces with low hygiene and high...…construct. “Even with best treatment of the hygienic factors, employees will be neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. It is only through boosting the motivating factors that a company can realistically expect enhanced motivation of their employees” (Damij, et al., 2015, par.5).
In studies today, Herzberg’s theory has been used to better understand motivation in healthcare. For example, one study of burnout in nurses used the framework to understand life satisfaction and job satisfaction as a way of preventing burnout in this high-risk category. It found that midwives had a relatively low rate of burnout, which was attributed to job satisfaction (Uchmanowicz, et al., 2019). Herzberg’s theory may be simple, but theorists have thus still found it useful to offer needed advice to managers about how to encourage employees to perform better.

Reference

Damij, N., Levnaji?, Z.,…