One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?

by Frederick Herzberg

Are the tools that managers use to prevent dissatisfaction - generous salaries, good working conditions, flexible rules - truly motivating people?
Noted management professor and psychologist Frederick Herzberg says no. In this influential Harvard Business Review article, he argues that what actually drives engagement is achievement, recognition, responsibility, growth, and the work itself. To improve performance, managers must practice job enrichment. The result is a more productive and satisfied workforce.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Management

65 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2008

Reviews

[Christoph Kappel]

This was really short, but interesting read. It basically contains explanations how to motivate your employees from a manager perspective, but also helps if you want to explore the ways you should be motivated.

I especially liked the separation of real motivational factors and the hygienic ones like status or salary.

[Jorg van Gaal]

An article about the factors that motivate people.
What I got from it is the learning that some things work motivating and other things work demotivating but they are not necessarily the opposite.

[Fabrizio Stucchi]

This is gold.

[Lukman Haris]

Herzberg's research about motivation around 30 years ago is still relevant to today. Money, status even relationship will never bring any long lasting motivation. They may bring a little euphoria to make people move but only for a short time. I myself have experienced that money and status were fascinated for only several weeks. On the contrary, intrinsic motivators are mostly about the work itself and the result of the work. When you know that your work is good and recognized by many people, you would feel motivated to do better and better, wouldn't you? We can see today people working on their passion relentlessly because they find purpose, mastery and autonomy (Daniel Pink's Drive). And, they also find recognition, achievement, advancement and growth (Herzberg's intrinsic motivators) in talent competitions to fulfill their passion.

[Chris]

If you are in human resources, and it has never occurred to you that employees might be happier if they think they're doing something useful, then this essay may teach you something. Actually, if you just read that sentence, then you've learned everything this essay can teach you. I just saved you 15 minutes. (Yeah, it's that short, but still somehow a waste of time.)

[Barry]

Interesting essay from 1968 which is still relevant today. In a nutshell, 'If you want someone to do a good job, give them a good job to do'.

It's a quick read but the theory suggests that whilst money gets people through the door it's other factors like recognition and job enrichment that keeps people there.

[Stephen]

READ MAR 2010

Classic from Frederick Herzberg on how motivation works in organizations. Nice treatment of the difference between motivation and hygiene factors.