Job Satisfaction and Motivation
A PRELUDE TO JOB SATISFACTION
Employee job satisfaction and retention has always been an issue to debate with regards to achieving a high level of productivity within an organization. Job satisfaction is best defined as a set of feelings and emotions employees associate with their work. It is an attitude which is inversely related to behaviors such as absenteeism and staff turnover.
In theory, an organization with employees that display behaviors of high absenteeism and turnover as a result of low levels of job satisfaction would usually suffer from higher recruitment and retraining cost that will impair profitability. Sadly, most organizations till today have failed to make job satisfaction a top management priority; this phenomenon is attributed to the failure to identify the significant benefits an organization would enjoy just by manipulating an attitude. Satisfied employees tend to be more productive and committed to work and their employers. Organizations that can create work environments that attract, motivate and retain hard-working individuals will be better positioned to succeed in a competitive business industry. For the purpose of this paper, I would like to highlight a key motivational theory that organizations could apply to achieve high sustainable level of job satisfaction among its employees.
MOTIVATION A HERZBERG 'S THEORY
Motivation refers to forces within an individual that account for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, 1997). In the late 1950s, one of the pioneers of motivation theories, (Frederick Herzberg, 1968) created the Herzberg Theory which places emphasis on two facets of job motivation: hygiene and motivational factors. Hygiene issues as one of the facets can only minimize dissatisfaction and not motivate employees if managed correctly and vice versa. In a practical context, hygiene factors are issues related to the work environment such as remuneration, company
Employee job satisfaction and retention has always been an issue to debate with regards to achieving a high level of productivity within an organization. Job satisfaction is best defined as a set of feelings and emotions employees associate with their work. It is an attitude which is inversely related to behaviors such as absenteeism and staff turnover.
In theory, an organization with employees that display behaviors of high absenteeism and turnover as a result of low levels of job satisfaction would usually suffer from higher recruitment and retraining cost that will impair profitability. Sadly, most organizations till today have failed to make job satisfaction a top management priority; this phenomenon is attributed to the failure to identify the significant benefits an organization would enjoy just by manipulating an attitude. Satisfied employees tend to be more productive and committed to work and their employers. Organizations that can create work environments that attract, motivate and retain hard-working individuals will be better positioned to succeed in a competitive business industry. For the purpose of this paper, I would like to highlight a key motivational theory that organizations could apply to achieve high sustainable level of job satisfaction among its employees.
MOTIVATION A HERZBERG 'S THEORY
Motivation refers to forces within an individual that account for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, 1997). In the late 1950s, one of the pioneers of motivation theories, (Frederick Herzberg, 1968) created the Herzberg Theory which places emphasis on two facets of job motivation: hygiene and motivational factors. Hygiene issues as one of the facets can only minimize dissatisfaction and not motivate employees if managed correctly and vice versa. In a practical context, hygiene factors are issues related to the work environment such as remuneration, company
References: 1. Blanchard, Kenneth H. and Hersey, Paul. (1993): Management of Organizational, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 2. Griffin, Ricky W. and Moorhead, Gregory. (2007): Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations, Eighth Edition, New York: Houghton Mifflin 3. Hackman, J.R. and Oldham, G.R. (1975): Development of the job diagnostic survey, Journal of Applied Psychology 4. Herzberg, F. (1968): ‘One More Time How Do You Motivate Your Employees ', Harvard Business Review 5. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B. (1993): The Motivation to Work, Somerset, NJ: Transaction Publishers 6. Robbins, Stephen P. (2004): Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition, Pearson Education 7. Schermerhorn, John R. Jr., Hunt, James G. and Osborn, Richard N. (1997) Organizational Behavior: John Wiley & Sons Inc 8. Wilson, Susan B. (1994): Changing People 's Behavior, New York: AMACOM