Learn It 12.2.2: Need-Based Theories of Motivation

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivators

American psychologist Frederick Herzberg set out to determine the effect of attitude on motivation by asking people to describe the times when they felt really good and really bad about their jobs. What he found was that people who felt good about their jobs gave very different responses from the people who felt bad.

The results from this investigation led to Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory (sometimes known as Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory). Hygiene factors, or extrinsic motivators, tend to represent more tangible, basic needs—i.e., the kinds of needs included in the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Extrinsic motivators include status, job security, salary, and fringe benefits. Motivation factors, or intrinsic motivators, tend to represent less tangible, more emotional needs—i.e., the kinds of needs identified in the higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Intrinsic motivators include challenging work, recognition, relationships, and growth potential. Motivators are job satisfiers while hygiene factors are job dissatisfiers.

Chart showing the factors that contribute to job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction according to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory. Job satisfaction is influenced by motivator factors; job dissatisfaction is influenced by hygiene factors. Improving motivator factors increases job satisfaction. Motivator factors include: achievement, recognition, responsibility, the work itself, advancement, and personal growth. Improving hygiene factors decreases job dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors include working conditions, coworker relations, policies and rules, supervisor quality, and based wage or salary.
Figure 1. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
What differentiates two-factor theory from Maslow’s theories and the Hawthorne effect is the role of employee expectations. According to Herzberg, intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators have an inverse relationship. That is, intrinsic motivators tend to increase motivation when they are present, while extrinsic motivators tend to reduce motivation when they are absent. This is due to employees’ expectations. Extrinsic motivators (e.g., salary, benefits) are expected, so they won’t increase motivation when they are in place, but they will cause dissatisfaction when they are missing. Intrinsic motivators (e.g., challenging work, growth potential), on the other hand, can be a source of additional motivation when they are available.

If management wants to increase employees’ job satisfaction, they should be concerned with the nature of the work itself—the opportunities it presents employees for gaining status, assuming responsibility, and achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand, management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then it must focus on the job environment—policies, procedures, supervision, and working conditions. To ensure a satisfied and productive workforce, managers must pay attention to both sets of job factors.