24.04.2009 | Hygiene and motivation
With so many gloomy news reports hitting us every day, it’s
easy to fall into a spiral of worry. In turbulent times like these it is even
more important to safeguard staff morale. If employees are feeling despondent
the negative affects can ripple far and wide, affecting both productivity and
customer relations.
Pyschologist Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000) is famous for
the research he did on what creates satisfaction and dissatisfaction amongst
workers. What became known as his Motivation-Hygiene theory was first published
in The Motivation to Work in 1959.
Herzberg proposed that the factors associated with actually
doing a job, for example achievement, recognition and responsibility are the
things that most satisfy and motivate us.
The circumstantial or ‘hygiene’ aspects, of a job, such as
company policy, the way we are supervised, salary and working conditions are
the most likely to cause dissatisfaction.
Of course he was using the term ‘hygiene’ rather loosely but
he named the working environment as one of the key issues. What’s interesting
about all this is what it reveals about human beings. We may complain about
grubby keyboards and greasy phone earpieces, we may even be prompted to go on
strike, but when things improve we quickly forget the temporary pleasure we
experienced!
Yes, unfortunately, we humans are quick to move onto the
next excitement. But that may not be so bad; perhaps once we have all our
‘hygiene’ issues taken care of then we can focus on finding deeper meaning
through our work. So maybe a touch of cleaning can lead to happy and fulfilled
employees. It certainly does for one of Capital’s customers: “Having clean
equipment helps the office to look good and it makes you feel nice.”
With spring bursting forth what better time to pay a little
attention to cleaning?
