Theory X and Y
Theory X and Y are two concepts about employees' motivation in the workplace. They were first introduced by a social phycologist, Douglas McGregor, in late 1960's. In his book, called, "The Human Side of Enterprise", McGregor talks about two approaches to management: authoritarian, which refers to Theory X, and participative, in the case of Theory Y.
Theory X
In Theory X an average employee is perceived to be uninterested to his or her job and have a negative attitude towards responsibility or initiative.
Main assumptions of Theory X
- People do not enjoy their job and try to avoid it if there is a possibility.
- Employees need continuous guidance from their supervisors.
- Managers have to warn people with punishments in order to make them do the necessary work.
- Employees do not take initiative in their tasks.
- Responsibility is highly avoided.
- People are opposed to any kind of change and try to resist it for as long as possible.
- Security, specifically in their job, is the priority for people.
- Employees lack ambition and need materialistic incentives, rewards to stay involved in work.
When describing Theory X in his book McGregor makes a connection to Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs. In the case of this theory employees have lower-level needs, which can be fulfilled with monetary benefits. In addition to this, McGregor insists that once a certain need is satisfied, the motivation behind it disappears. Therefore, this form of motivation in the workplace is not the most effective or long-lasting, since people would need constant incentives to stay committed to their job.
