Tag Archive: motivation

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:58 — 3.6MB)

“These experts who say that pay is not a motivator don’t know what they’re talking about. If you don’t pay people enough, they will not be motivated to work hard. In fact they may be motivated to leave.”

There are many leaders in the world who believe pay and benefits are all that’s needed to motivate workers to work harder and produce more. Let’s look at that argument.

Humans have what Abraham Maslow called a survival need. To meet that need, they must receive sufficient compensation to provide food and shelter for them and their families. If they aren’t paid enough to meet this need, then the statement above will probably be correct. It will be difficult for them to realize any other motivation than to meet their survival needs. So, if you’re paying your employees a pittance, don’t expect them to move much beyond their motivation to survive.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:59 — 3.6MB)

Frederick Herzberg’s (1923 – 2000) study of human behavior was driven by his experience as a member of the liberating force which arrived at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. He wanted to understand why people would do such things. His study led to development of the Motivation-Hygiene theory. In presenting this theory, Herzberg said two factors acted on workers; motivational factors and hygiene factors. Hygiene factors are things that can cause dissatisfaction, but whose removal does not cause satisfaction or motivation. Motivational factors on the other hand, do result in better performance and production. It’s important to understand the distinction between dissatisfaction and satisfaction. Herzberg said that hygiene factors could cause dissatisfaction, and fixing a hygiene factor could remove dissatisfaction, but real satisfaction could only come from actual motivational factors. What is surprising to some is the definition of motivational factors versus hygiene factors.