2019 Employee Satisfaction and Employee Engagement Comparison

Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory

American psychologist Frederick Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory states that people are influenced by two factors: factors that influence motivation and basic factors that influence job satisfaction.

Motivation factors include issues such as a sense of challenge, recognition and responsibility at work. Hygiene factors include pay and benefits, supervision, working conditions and job security.

Hygiene factors determine a person's level of satisfaction with their job. If hygiene factors are not met, it leads to dissatisfaction and the employee starts looking for better job opportunities elsewhere. However, after a certain level, offering more or better hygiene factors does not increase job satisfaction or job performance in the way you might think.

Motivational factors directly affect a person's performance. When an employee is engaged in work that matches their motivation, they are more committed to their work and strive to do better. On the other hand, just because an employee is satisfied does not make them work harder. In addition, even if an employee is highly motivated, they may not be satisfied with their work. He or she may find the work interesting and challenging, but if he or she thinks he or she can get a higher salary in another company, he or she will not be satisfied.

Both factors are essential components of employee engagement. Basic hygiene factors must be met to guarantee employee satisfaction and retention, but in addition, for an employee to perform at a high level, they need to be doing a job that matches their motivation. Hygiene factors are easy to identify and improve. Motivational factors, on the other hand, are different for each employee and the person who has the most influence on these factors is the employee's manager. Therefore, a manager must understand what motivates each employee and create an environment in which they can perform at their best.

Job Satisfaction

Are you focusing too much on job satisfaction to improve performance?

What are some of the things that motivate your employees the most?

Managers want to fulfill the needs of their employees, so that they are satisfied with their salaries, working hours. These factors affect employee satisfaction. But how does satisfaction affect employee engagement?

Let's look at Mehmet's situation. He is an assembly line worker and he is satisfied with his job. His job means stable employment. He is satisfied with his salary (at least better than most jobs he can find in this field). He starts work at 7 a.m. and finishes at a time when he can pick up his seven-year-old from school. He meets his needs. However, for Mehmet in this example, it is just a job. He or she doesn't look forward to coming to work and doesn't feel motivated to perform at his or her best.

Employee Satisfaction and Employee Engagement in 2019

An employee like Mehmet can be satisfied with his job without being engaged. But employee engagement is more than just being satisfied with the salary and the end of work at 4 pm. Satisfaction is just job satisfaction, and satisfaction alone is often not enough to retain employees and guarantee productivity.

On the other hand, employee engagement provides companies with increased productivity. An engaged employee is one who is deeply involved and invested in their work. The factors that lead to employee engagement are different from those that lead to satisfaction. Engagement factors include: Meaning, Autonomy, Growth, Impact and Connection. Employee satisfaction is the foundation from which employee engagement can grow and flourish.

Organizations with truly engaged employees have higher employee retention, productivity, customer satisfaction, innovation and quality. They also require less training time and experience fewer illnesses and accidents.

Employee satisfaction is the
minimum entry fee
required for an employee to be fully engaged.