Advantages and Disadvantages of Herzberg Theory

If you ask 100 people about their job conditions and environment than chances are that only 1 or 2 people would say that they are satisfied with their company and overall environment of the company. Herzberg theory of motivation tries to address employee problems by focusing on factors which give satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction to the employees working in the company.

According to Herzberg theory there are two types of factors one set of factors are called motivators which include things like recognition at workplace, opportunities for growth in company and so on while other sets of factors are called hygiene factors which include factors like general working conditions in the company, interpersonal relations with colleagues, salary and so on. According to this theory, the best possible scenario is when a company has high motivators and high hygiene factors which ensure that employees of the company are highly motivated towards the work and have fewer problems with the company. In order to understand more about this theory, one should look at the advantages and disadvantages of Herzberg theory –

Advantages of Herzberg Theory

Emphasis on Motivation from within

The first and foremost advantage of this theory of motivation is that it lays emphasis on motivation coming from within the employees themselves rather than focusing on other external factors. Hence in simple words company by adopting this theory ensures that on the part of the company it can improve its working environment and conditions so that employees feel motivated to work hard which in the long term will benefit the company as a whole.

Companies can focus on the problem of Employees

The majority of companies think that giving salary is enough for the satisfaction of employees but when a company uses this theory than only it comes to know about employees problems and by making sure that factors which dissatisfy employees can be reduced company can make the environment of the company employee-friendly.

Money is Treated Secondary

Another benefit is that in this theory money is treated as secondary because factors like job promotion, recognition, relationships between employees are considered to be motivating factors rather than money. In simple words in this world where everything is measured in money, Herzberg’s theory brings a change by measuring employee satisfaction not in terms of money but through other equally important factors.

Disadvantages of Herzberg Theory

Job Satisfaction and Job Productivity not directly related

The biggest disadvantage of this theory is that it is not necessary that satisfied employees will lead to increase in productivity in the company as job satisfaction is one of the factors behind the increase in job productivity but not the only factor. Hence in simple words, if the company is thinking that an increase in job satisfaction will lead to an increase in job productivity then it may set itself for disappointment.

It can be Subjective

Another problem with the Herzberg theory is that different people have different meaning when it comes to job satisfaction hence, for example, some people may like flexible working hours while for others it may be troublesome, similarly some people like to have more salary as opposed to promotions and power while some give more weight to power and promotions as compared to money. Similarly, young people have different perceptions while old people have a different perception when it comes to salary, job perquisites, promotion and so on.

Ignores External Factors

Another limitation of this theory is that it ignores external factors which in reality plays a big role hence for example if a competitor company is paying a higher salary for the same job profile than employees will not be satisfied with the company even if the company has implemented all factors of Herzberg theory. In simple words ignoring external factors completely can result in a problem for the company especially in those industries where external factors are more prominent than internal factors.

As one can see from above that Herzberg theory of motivation has advantages as well as disadvantages and any company thinking of implementing this theory should carefully analyze the above points and then decide whether to implement this theory in the company or not.