International Forum of Educational Technology & Society

Formal Discussion Initiation

Motivation and hygiene as a framework for eLearning practice

Introduction

In the mid 1960s management theorist Frederick Herzberg made a discovery that changed the way in which people understood motivation in the workplace. Some forty years later, Herzberg’s (1966) motivation and hygiene principle finds an interesting application in eLearning practice. His work provides a different frame of reference for considering the advantages and potential for eLearning for education.

eLearning is frequently acclaimed as enabling education that is more accessible (available to students), effective (better for their learning) and efficient (cheaper for an institution to provide). Herzberg’s framework provides eLearning practitioners with an opportunity to consider how these advantages might best be realized and how eLearning expenditure might be maximised.

Herzberg interviewed 200 engineers and accountants and asked them about one positive and one negative work experience they had encountered. He then probed their answers to find out what was behind each experience. Herzberg discovered a group of ‘satisfiers’ that were generally responsible for positive experiences, and a set of ‘dissatisfiers’ that were generally responsible for negative workplace experiences. He further noted that a lack of ‘satisfiers’ did not generally result in negative experiences and that a positive experience of the ‘dissatisfiers’ did not result in positive experiences. As Herzberg (2002, 76) stated “The opposite of job satisfaction is not job dissatisfaction but no job satisfaction; and similarly the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction.”

Satisfaction leads to a positive workplace contribution. Dissatisfaction on the other hand leads to decreased productivity and less commitment to the workplace.

Motivation and hygiene

Identifying satisfiers and dissatisfiers led Herzberg to determine motivation and hygiene factors that employers could apply to improve employee satisfaction in the workplace. The motivating factors are those that describe the workers relationship to what he or she does, while the dissatisfiers relate to the context within which the work is performed. Motivation factors increase motivation if they are present; hygiene factors cause dissatisfaction if they are absent. By way of example, giving employees responsibility provides them with motivation as it is a motivation factor. If employees are not given responsibility, they are not motivated but neither are they dissatisfied. On the other hand, paying employees more (salary, a hygiene factor) will not cause them to be motivated but unless the salary is adequate employees will be dissatisfied.

Table One summarises Herzberg’s findings.

Satisfiers (motivation factors)	Dissatisfiers (hygiene factors)
Achievement Recognition The nature of the work itself Responsibility Advancement	Company policy and administration Supervision Salary Interpersonal relations with supervisor Working conditions

Table One – Motivation and hygiene factors in the workplace

Of these, the nature of the work itself, responsibility and advancement caused the most long-lasting motivation. Herzberg’s theory has been confirmed by a number of parallel studies in different industries.

eLearning’s motivation and hygiene factors

Herzberg’s theory is of interest to eLearning because it provides important clues for practice. Exchanging employment for education and employees for students, the following motivation and hygiene factors are proposed.

Satisfiers (motivation factors)	Dissatisfiers (hygiene factors)
Enthusiasm and commitment of educators. Feedback and academic mentoring from tutors. Serendipity. A sense of community.	Clear expectations. Prompt assignment return. Reliable LMS technology. Flexibility and control. Institutional policies and procedures.

Table Two – Proposed motivation and hygiene factors for education

In Herzberg’s framework the motivation factors are those that increase satisfaction if they are present but generally do not lead to dissatisfaction if they are absent. Hygiene factors however cannot motivate but cause dissatisfaction if they are absent. If the proposed motivation and hygiene factors are accurate, the following generalizations can be made about eLearning.

• The online tutor and his or her activity is key to satisfaction in eLearning.
• The establishment of online community is a vital element of eLearning.
• The actual technology used in eLearning cannot satisfy however a poor choice can cause dissatisfaction.
• Providing students with flexible learning opportunities does not motivate them however its absence would cause dissatisfaction.

Implications for practice

As a general conclusion, the following comments can be made with regard to access, effectiveness and efficiency of eLearning. These have a general application to eLearning decision making.

• Access is a hygiene factor in that if it is present it does not necessarily increase satisfaction however it will result in dissatisfaction if it is absent. Increasing access opportunities will not result in improved learning.
• Effectiveness in eLearning relies on leveraging the motivation factors. Activity in the hygiene area will not increase eLearning effectiveness.
• Efficiency gains can only be made by ensuring that the hygiene factors are kept at a ‘fitness for purpose’ level of activity and the motivation factors should not be subject to cost cutting.

Discussion questions

1. Are the motivation and hygiene factors proposed for education accurate? What research might confirm them or suggest otherwise?
2. Is there a valid link between satisfaction and success in student learning?
3. Is it accurate to consider ‘access’ as a hygiene factor, ‘effectiveness’ as reliant on motivating factors, and efficiency gains best possible at the expense of hygiene factors?

Bibliography

Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland and New York: The Word Publishing Company.

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