This was a period of time that people tried to figure out what might affect the productivity and efficiency, like from motivation. It produced a variety of theories researching people’s psychological desires; around what do they need in different levels, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. However, this time we try to focus on two-factor theory.
Employees in an organization are either satisfied or dissatisfied with their job based on whether they are motivated or not on their job. However, the kind of motivation employees get determines their output level. Thus, a high level of satisfaction could lead to high output whilst high level of dissatisfaction with the job could lead to low output. However, the opposite of job satisfaction is not dissatisfaction, but rather a simple lack of satisfaction. In the same way, the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not satisfaction, but rather “no dissatisfaction” (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, The Motivation to Work, 1959). Now, it would interest managers to know the level of employee’s satisfaction and the factor(s) causing such satisfaction/ dissatisfaction.
(Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, The Motivation to Work, 1959) proposed that in understanding the relevant attitude of employees, it is possible to best understand such an employee’s motivation to work. That is, if searched by managers, they should get reasonable information on motivation of workers based on the internal concept of attitude which originates from a state of mind.
To explain the concept of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction, Herzberg in 1959 developed a theory on job attitudes out of the Maslow’s theory of motivation and called it the two factor theory which he preferred most to call it the motivation-hygiene theory.
It is also called “Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory” because of its two sides of the theory, and the name of “hygiene” he