…I still go to the gym today. Most of the time I work out alone though. Sometimes, after a long day at work for example, I find myself just sitting there and staring out the window. I feel tired and lazy and a lot of times I’m tempted to stop my work out and rather take a hot shower. Everytime that happens, I think of the times when I went to the gym with Carlo and I wonder why I never had this feeling when we did our work out together.

What we’re talking about here is a scientifically examined phenomenon called the “co-action” effect.

The two factor theory is based on a study by Frederick Herzberg (1959). He wanted to find out if there are universal and consistent factors that affect motivation at work.

Herzberg interviewed 203 American accountants & engineers. The test subjects were asked to name times when they felt notably satisfied and unsatisfied about there current and previous jobs. They were also asked to give a detailed description of the chain of events, leading to thiese feelings.

The results turned out to be very consistent, revealing two distinct groups of factors affecting motivation at work.