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Hygiene-Moervation Theory And Frederick Herzberg's Theory Of Motivation

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Frederick Herzberg’s hygiene-motivation theory has been useful in the determination of what motivates people in the workplace. Similarly, as in Maslow’s theory, Herzberg focused on identifying individual needs, desires, and how we go about satisfying those needs and desires. Herzberg’s theory of motivation is known as the two-factor content theory. It is based upon the idea that motivation can be separated into “hygiene factors” and “motivation factors” and is often referred to as a ‘two need system’. Throughout this paper, a description of the ‘two-need system’ will be provided as well as an interpretation of the theory itself. A comparison to Abraham Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ theory will be provided, as well as an overview about what was learned about the theory will also be summarized The two separate ‘needs’ are the need to avoid discomfort and, at the other end of the motivational scale, the need for personal development and growth. A lack of factors that positively encourage employees (the motivating factors) will cause employees to focus on other, non-job related ‘hygiene’ factors.
During the 1950’s and 60’s, Frederick Herzberg found himself questioning employee satisfaction. He wanted to understand it better, and he conducted studies with different people to try to understand how someone’s attitude could affect how much they are motivated. During his studies, he began asking people about situations they had been in that made them feel really good or

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