NOVEMBER 20

You can’t get there from here.

REACHING YOUR DESTINATION

Driving in rural Massachusetts, it’s not unusual to stop for directions only to be told by a longtime resident, “You can’t get there from here.” And after being lost for hours on end, we’ve sometimes begun to fear they might be right.

By the same token, some things—including salaries and perks—just cannot bring you motivated employees, no matter how long or hard you try. Why? Dr. Frederick Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory has the answer.

His theory was that the opposite of job satisfaction is not dissatisfaction but, rather, no job satisfaction; and similarly, the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction, but no dissatisfaction.

Through his research, Herzberg identified several “hygiene” factors, which cause dissatisfaction when absent. The list includes salary and fringe benefits/perks. He found that when they are introduced, employees are no longer dissatisfied, but they are not motivated or satisfied by them either. (You just can’t get there from here.)

On the other hand, Herzberg described “motivation” factors, which include recognition and sense of achievement. If these factors are present, employees are satisfied. When they are absent, employees are not dissatisfied but will lack motivation. In other words, satisfaction and motivational levels depend on these factors being present.