EIN Why Self-Direction Works A Review of Herzberg's Concepts One of the subjects that has befuddled managers over the years is worker motivation. Managers, as a group, tend to be uncomfortable with the human aspects of performance, preferring to concentrate on the more familiar technical matters. A quick trip to a library would give any manager a bounty of information that would help to increase worker motivation and performance. One of the foremost researchers in this field is Frederick Herzberg, an industrial psychologist. It is Herzberg's work on motivation and job enrichment that strikes at the heart of the success of self-direction concepts.
Hygiene factors relate to our biological needs, such as providing food, clothing, and shelter.
Herzberg says we have a build-in drive to avoid pain relative to these needs, so we do what is necessary, such as work, to provide what we need. Motivator factors , however, are very different. These factors include achievement, and through achievement, the ability to experience psychological growth. Herzberg used the term job enrichment to describe how the motivator factors can be used to achieve higher levels of satisfaction with a job. Take particular note of how closely these factors align with concepts embodied in self-direction.