Frederick Herzberg's 1959 theory that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction come from two independent sets of factors: intrinsic motivators that create satisfaction, and extrinsic hygiene factors that only prevent dissatisfaction. Replication has been mixed: a 1973 study by George Hines found supervision and interpersonal relationships ranked highly among workers with high job satisfaction, contradicting Herzberg's clean dichotomy, and the original satisfaction/dissatisfaction split has separately been argued to be an artifact of Herzberg's own critical incident technique rather than an independent finding. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Disputed
Core ClaimJob satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are produced by two independent sets of workplace factors, not opposite ends of one scale: intrinsic motivators (achievement, recognition, responsibility, meaningful work) create satisfaction, while extrinsic hygiene factors (salary, job security, working conditions, company policy) only prevent dissatisfaction and do not themselves motivate. 1 Classification
Topic (Functional Area) Connections
Associated With
Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory built on the Human Relations Movement's focus on employee satisfaction and morale.
Source Wikipedia, Two-Factor Theory
Hackman and Oldham built the job characteristics model on the job-enrichment ideas of Herzberg two-factor theory.
McClelland theory of needs and Herzberg two-factor theory are the standard paired content theories of motivation.
Developed By
Source Wikipedia, Frederick Herzberg
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Two-Factor Theory
Wikipedialead section
there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other
Criticism
supervision and interpersonal relationships were ranked highly by those with high job satisfaction
Wikipedia, Two-factor theory lead section
The two-factor theory (also known as motivation-hygiene theory, motivator-hygiene theory, and dual-factor theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other. It was developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg.
Introduction, functional area topic classification
The two-factor theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other.
- Associated With: Human Relations Movement
View the Source 2. Wikipedia, Frederick Herzberg
WikipediaWikipedia, Frederick Herzberg lead section
His 1968 publication "One More Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?" had sold 1.2 million reprints by 1987 and was the most requested article from the Harvard Business Review.
- Developed By: Frederick Herzberg
View the Source Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Core Claim
The clean split between motivators and hygiene factors has not held up consistently under replication. A 1973 study by George Hines found that supervision and interpersonal relationships, both classified by Herzberg as mere hygiene factors that only prevent dissatisfaction, were ranked highly by workers who reported HIGH job satisfaction, directly contradicting the theory's independence claim. Other critics have separately argued the original satisfaction/dissatisfaction split is an artifact of Herzberg's own critical incident technique rather than an independently verified finding.
A dissenting reading, from George Hines (1973 replication study)Wikipedia, Two-Factor Theory, Wikipedia
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