Herzberg's theory of the two factors on labor motivation

The renowned psychologist Frederick Herzberg won his fame thanks to his work in the field of labor psychology. Specifically, he dedicated himself to the administrative management of companies, speaking from a psychological perspective of the same.

Thanks to his theory of the two factors, it was better to understand what a worker was satisfied and, on the contrary, what prevented him. As we will see in this article when weeding its theory is very useful in the psychology of work and organizations, being applied even today in numerous companies. In this Psychology-online article you will discover the Herzberg's theory of the two factors on labor motivation, which is also called motivation and hygiene theory. ^[1]

1. Frederick Herzberg theory of the two factors
2. What are the two factors of Herzberg's theory
3. How can Frederick Herzberg's dual factor theory

Frederick Herzberg theory of the two factors

In the Theory of the two factors o Theory of motivation and hygiene, Herzberg establishes that workers (in reality, all individuals) have a series of needs. These are the needs classified as basic by the author, specifically they are Motivation and hygiene, Hence the name of his theory. Although later we will detail each of them, the important thing is to understand what happens if these needs are not covered or satisfied.

An important fact is that, while the factors of hygiene They refer to dissatisfaction, those of motivation They do it to satisfaction. These factors would be completely independent, that is, a motivating factor can only cause job satisfaction or not, but would never cause dissatisfaction, being unidirectional. Nor are they opposite, if one goes up the other does not have to go up or down, that is, if satisfaction increases, this, by itself, does not affect dissatisfaction.

What are the two factors of Herzberg's theory

The two factors of the two factors of Frederick Herzberg are:

Motivation

Herzberg's first factor of the theory is motivation. It refers to intrinsic, satisfactory or content factors. The motivation factors are what They generate satisfaction. The continuum of feelings would go from satisfaction to non -satisfaction. Examples of motivation factors are:

• Recognition
• The degree of responsibility
• Labor independence
• The promotion

Here you will find more information about the motivation in psychology.

Hygiene

The second factor of Herzberg's theory is hygiene: called hygiene factors, extrinsic, dissatisfactors or context. These factors include the conditions of the work environment of the individuals, causing their dissatisfaction. In this case the continuum ranges from dissatisfaction and non -dissatisfaction. Some examples would be:

• Salary
• Company policy
• The supervision
• Relationships with colleagues

How can Frederick Herzberg's dual factor theory

In his theory, Herzberg provides a series of Tips that facilitate satisfaction and non -dissatisfaction of the workers, preventing the interests of the company and those of the worker from entering into conflict, something that happens quite frequently. These tips are:

• Responsibility: Herzberg recommends gradually increasing the responsibility that workers have, giving them more and more relevant and necessary jobs. This is more effective if the complexity of tasks is increasing together.
• Personalization and Growth: Grant workers special, personalized or extraordinary tasks, who are aimed at improving their important skills for the performance of their position.
• Offer more freedom and flexibility to the worker.
• Eliminate controls and the restrictive and excessive supervisions, changing them for a support model, much more effective.
• Give feedback to workers on the repercussions of their work and the achievements achieved. Offer ethro -food for tasks and performance.
• Create a good atmosphere of work, in which good relationships between workers are established, promoting cooperation and never an aggressive competition between them.
• Adequate salary: Provide workers with a decent, just and adjusted salary in their position, in turn ensuring stability to the individual.

In the following article you will find personal motivation techniques at work.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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1. Pérez, J., Méndez, s. And Jaca, M. (2010). Employee Motivation: Herzberg Theory. Seville, Spain flag: University of Seville. Retrieved on November 20, 2019 from http: // ocwus.us.is/Psychology-social/psychology-of-the-recurrences-human/themes/theme3cg/page_04.htm