As the 1950s progressed, interest in job satisfaction ballooned. Nearly 70 studies in that decade alone purported to examine the question of what made workers satisfied with their jobs. But a true answer proved elusive as these studies produced contradictory answers and individuals varied in their responses depending on their apparent moods at different times. The realization of the “Hawthorne effect” added to the confusion as the Hawthorne studies showed how difficult it is to pin down the salient factors that motivate workers. Personnel specialists would be told to ignore these irrational factors utterly and effectively tell the workers what they wanted.
Not satisfied with the state of knowledge in this matter, Frederick Herzberg and his colleagues Bernard Mauser and Barbara Snyderman undertook an extensive study including over 200 interviews with engineers and accountants working in the Pittsburgh area in the late 1950s. Through stories, what the researchers would call sequences, these professional workers would describe situations that affected their job commitment and the short- or long-term effects such as whether workers were happy or actively seeking greener pastures elsewhere.
They would find that factors leading to satisfaction were very different than those leading to dissatisfaction. The satisfiers were work-related, such as feelings of achievement, being recognized, or gaining in prestige and responsibility. Those factors that led to dissatisfaction were more likely related to the environment around the work such as relationships with colleagues or supervisors, company policies, work conditions, or in some cases wages and salary. But eliminating these dissatisfiers did not mean workers were happy – satisfaction was not assured. So employers and managers had to address two different sets of factors – one that truly motivates workers and those that prevented problems from arising. The result became known as Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Job Satisfaction, also known as the motivator-hygiene theory. Hygiene factors were so-named because they served a similar purpose as one’s preventative health measures – to keep the workplace environment free of problems and thus reduce the propensity for worker complaints.
You may also download the audio files here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Teaser
Read with us:
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley.
To Learn More:
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological bulletin, 51(4), 327.
Hersey, R. B. (1936). Emotional factors in accidents. Personnel Journal, 15, 59-65.
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Peterson, R. O., & Capwell, D. F. (1957). Job attitudes; review of research and opinion. Pittsburgh: Psychological Service of Pittsburgh.
Other Talking About Organizations Podcast episodes referenced:
Episode 9. Hawthorne Studies — Elton Mayo
Title Image Credit: David Siglin via Unsplash, Creative Commons license.
