Frederick Irving Herzberg

Personal life Herzberg was born in 1923 in Lynn, Massachusetts, to Gertrude and Lewis Herzberg, who were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. He was brought up in New York City,

Research Herzberg started his research on organizations in the 1950s. He worked at the University of Utah, where he remained until he retired. Prior to his move to Utah in 1972,

In his lifetime, Herzberg had consulted for many organizations as well as for the United States and other foreign governments.

Herzberg's papers, covering his work from the 1950s to the 1990s, are held in the special collections archive at the University of Utah. The bulk of the material in the collection dates from the 1970s and 1980s.

Motivator–hygiene theory of motivation. The idea behind this distinction is that hygiene factors will not motivate, but if they are not there, they can lower motivation. These factors could be anything from clean toilets and comfortable chairs, to a reasonable level of pay and job security. The theory deals with satisfaction and dissatisfaction in jobs which are not affected by the same set of needs, but instead occur independently of each other. Herzberg's theory challenged the assumption that "dissatisfaction was a result of an absence of factors giving rise to satisfaction".

Motivational factors will not necessarily lower motivation, but can be responsible for increasing motivation. These factors could involve job recognition, potential for promotion or even the work in itself.

Herzberg (1987) describes the growth factors (or motivators) as "achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, responsibility, and growth or advancement", which are intrinsic. The hygiene factors (or dissatisfaction-avoidance), which are extrinsic to the job, are "company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, salary, status, and security". This extrinsic factor "refers to doing something because it leads to a distinct outcome, something external you expect to receive, and the latter refers to doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable, an internal reward."