Reading endless research papers for my MBA may finally be paying off. I’m finding one or two gems. This one from Frederick Herzberg is one such article. He contends that dissatisfaction and satisfaction actually contends with two different human needs. First, being the nature to avoid pain from the environment, second being our drive and ability to achieve. Therefore they are in fact not opposites of each other. Does this tally up?

In most staff surveys the number one complaints I can remember are to do with company policies and administration. Timesheet system is crap, too many meetings, things too slow to move, my manager is a !@$!@% are some of the most common ones. Closely followed are to do with working conditions – stress, balance of personal life, relationship with peers, pay etc. Herzberg calls these the hygiene factor of jobs.

I work in the field of IT. In most cases, people are reasonably well compensated. I hardly see anyone leave jobs for these reasons. I see far more people leave jobs because they cannot advance themselves (lack of training), the work itself doesn’t challenge them, they don’t feel recognised for their work or don’t find a sense of personal achievement in their jobs. Herzberg calls these the motivating factors of jobs.

The situation may be different in other blue collar jobs. While it is tempting to lump all my colleagues past and present into a single bucket, I’ll avoid that. Instead, if I think of my career to date, I tend to find it quite plausible. Hygiene factors have to tip the balance so much more than the motivating factors to influence me to stay of move on. So Herzberg has my affirmative vote on this one.

Why does this matter for management? One typical weakness in management is our focus on things that make the loudest noise. It is easy to identify the hygiene factors and express how dissatisfied you are. As managers we spend lots of time trying to make those go away. That actually doesn’t motivate us as much. All it does is takes an irritation away. Our productivity and ultimately job satisfaction rests on the motivating factors … why we work.

I’m keen to hear your views. Does this thought hold true elsewhere?

In case the link expires, the full APA reference is Herzberg, F. (1987). One more time: How do you motivate your employees? Harvard Business Review(September-October), 5-16.

Image credit: onherwaytoperfection.com

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