What Drives Us?
Mazlow, Herzberg, and Levi Strauss point the way
In my research into what drives us in the work context, I’m strongly influenced by the practicalities of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, the insight that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not two ends of one dimension, but actually two independent factors. He showed that job satisfaction is a function of the work that someone does, and that work has the capacity to fulfill needs, like achievement, competency, status, personal worth, and self-realization. Job dissatisfaction is linked to unfavorable perceptions of working conditions, relationships with others (especially supervisors), company policies, and salary. Herzberg’s breakthrough is that these two factors must be measured and managed independently, and in parallel.
I wonder how a shift to new economics, to new forms of organization and organizational culture will shape our drives?
Herzberg’s notions about human motivation are based deeply on the work of Maslow, whose hierarchy of needs is widely known, as shown in the chart below.. The basic premise is that people’s drives are hierarchical: once a lower-level set of drives is met, the individual feels the drives for the next higher level. Herzberg’s contribution is to consider two…
