The priority of needs characterizes the type of behavior. The satisfaction of some needs may not have positive effect on motivation but their non-satisfaction may act as negative factor. A question arises as to what types of needs are important for improving motivation. Frederick Herberg and his associates conducted a study of need satisfaction 200 engineers and accountants employed by firms in an around Pittsburgh.
The person were asked to describe a few previous job experiences in which they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about jobs. The influence of these experiences on job was also studied.
Herberg concluded that there were two sets of conditions. First types of conditions, described as maintenance of hygiene factors, do not motivate employees by their presence but their absence dissatisfies them. The other conditions, called motivational factors, operate to build strong motivation and high job satisfaction, but their absence hardly proves strongly dissatisfies them. The other conditions, called motivational factors, operate to build strong motivation and high job satisfaction, but their absence hardly proves strongly dissatisfying.
Maintenance or Hygiene Factor
These were called maintenance or hygiene factors since they were necessary to maintain current status i.e., reasonable level of satisfaction. These factors are more dissatisfied by their absence but their presence will not motivate. The additional of more and more of these factors will not help in motivating once they are satisfactory.
Herberg named the hygiene factors:
Company policy and administration, technical supervision, inter- personal relations with supervisor, inter-personal relations with peers, life, work relations with subordinates, status. These factors relate to conditions under which the job is performed. They produce no growth in workers but restrict loss of growth. These factors are necessary to maintain reasonable level of satisfaction in employees.
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