Why are your employees still lacking motivation?

In seminal work by Frederick Herzberg (1960) on job satisfaction and motivation, the Motivation-Hygiene Theory was developed; a concept that has stood the test of time.

It's a seemingly simplistic concept, yet we tend to still to get wrong and overcomplicate as Leaders and HR Practitioners.

His research separates employee job satisfaction and employee motivation factors into two, distinctly different, areas which are called Hygiene and Motivation factors, respectively.

This is a critical consideration for Leaders and HR practitioners alike as it effectively illuminates the factors needed for the bare minimum of employee job satisfaction, and what's required to go beyond this and effectively motivate our employees intrinsically.

So, what actually motivates employees? And what doesn’t?

Employee motivation is linked to the satisfaction a person experiences in their work. To Frederick Herzberg’s, Motivation-Hygiene Theory there are components of work that directly related to job satisfaction, and components of work that will directly impact an employees job dissatisfaction.

It's important to note a semantic differentiation between satisfaction and dissatisfaction here. The research shows that the opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction, and the opposite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction, rather than the commonly assumed opposites of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. What this reveals is, the absence of hygiene factors causes dissatisfaction, and the presence of them is simply no dissatisfaction. Similarly, the presence of motivation factors results in satisfaction, whereas the absence of motivation factors is simply no job satisfaction - not dissatisfaction.

Hygiene Factors - those that need to be present, to avoid job dissatisfaction are:

• A fair salary

• Job security

• A good relationship with peers, and their supervisor

• Adequate supervision

• Company policy and administration

Motivation Factors - those that drive motivation beyond basic needs, and create job satisfaction:

• A sense of achievement

• Recognition

• Responsibility

• Advancement

• Growth

• The work itself

This expounds that relying on Hygiene factors to motivate employees is ill-considered. Hygiene factors are extrinsic motivators, they don't light a fire from within employees themselves. A good salary, equitable working conditions and job security are needed to meet an employees basic needs, but they won't motivate an employee to do their best work.

To motivate employees, focus on job factors that drive satisfaction

To truly create a spark within our employees, one that 'acts as an internal generator' as Frederick Herzberg describes it, we need to tap into Motivational factors, those that drive our innate human desire to contribute and progress in the world. These are the factors that cause employees to want to do their job better.

A consequential consideration for leaders and HR practitioners when developing employee enrichment and rewards programs - understand the distinct difference between Hygiene and Motivation factors to ensure you're not misplacing your resources and energy into initiatives that won't result in employee motivation.

Original research: Frederick Herzberg (1960) 'Motivation-Hygiene Theory'.

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