ABSTRACT
The early figures who planted the seeds for the employee motivation movement were British reformer Robert Owen and Scottish doctor Andrew Ure.1 Robert Owen was one of the first to recognize the importance of human resources and the human needs of employees. Owen is considered a man ahead of his time. Until his era, factory workers were generally viewed much as appendages to machines and equipment. Being a factory owner himself, he improved working conditions for his workers. During his lifetime, he endeavored to improve the health, education, well-being, and rights of the working class. Many of his views are relevant today in their translation to our modern times. Andrew Ure also was a proponent of a humanistic approach to employees’ needs and providing workers with good working conditions. He introduced the human factors as an additional aspect of manufacturing, along with the mechanical and commercial ones. Unfortunately, the attempts of these two pioneers to improve working conditions were not picked up and developed by others. Workers at plants and factories worked long hours under intolerable conditions. Much of manufacturing work was piecework; that is, workers were paid per unit produced. The only method used to motivate workers for better performance was to offer more money.
