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I can charge a man's battery, and then recharge it, and recharge it again. But it is only when he has his own generator that we can talk about motivation. He then needs no outside stimulation. He wants to do it.

— Frederick Herzberg Frederick Herzberg in: M.M. Gruneberg (1976)

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More quotes by Frederick Herzberg

Man has two sets of needs: his need as an animal to avoid pain and his need as a human to grow psychologically.

If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do — an enriched job.

Frederick Herzberg in: Randall B. Dunham (1984)

Idleness, indifference and irresponsibility are healthy responses to absurd work... If you want people motivated to do a good job, give them a good job to do.

Frederick Herzberg in: Alfie Kohn (1999)

True motivation comes from achievement, personal development, job satisfaction, and recognition.

Dissatisfiers led to dissatisfaction because of the need to avoid pain for situations that caused discomfort; satisfiers led to job satisfaction because of a need for growth or self-actualization.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Frederick Herzberg (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.