Which of the Maslows hierarchy of needs theory is the best motivator for employees to do their job well?

Abraham Maslow postulated a motivational theory of ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ that stated all needs of individuals exist in a hierarchy of 5 levels, named as below, in the order of the lowest to the highest level in needs pyramid:

• Physiological
• Safety
• Belongingness and love
• Esteem
• Self-Actualization

The needs are built upwards on the level below, meaning that needs at one level must be satisfied before moving onto next higher level. Once the need at a level is satisfied, it no longer has the effect of motivating the individual behavior.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is applied to the workplace to evaluate employee behavior in several dimensions like Motivation or Engagement at workplace. For employees to be driven for a higher level need the current level need must be satisfied.

Dissatisfied employees are not fully motivated, they do not perform to their best potential, often become despondent or are unable to relate to the team’s objectives. As the worst case, prolonged dissatisfaction can lead to poor productivity and higher employee turnover rates.

Therefore, employees’ needs are their motivators, and HR experts tend to look at them as key indicators to devise effective employee job satisfaction and retention initiatives.

It is imperative for every organization to provide a workplace that a) encourages personal growth and development, b) provides challenging yet interesting jobs to employees, c) promotes creativity and innovation at work and d) offer opportunities of career advancement.

By understanding the relevance of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and applying it in workplace, can help leaders categorize employee needs to prioritize improvement actions towards creating an environment where employees feel their needs are fulfilled and they stay motivated to work.

Organizations must also be mindful of the fact that neither is there a single solution to satisfying employee needs across any level, nor do all employees feel the same way about fulfilment of their needs. 

Let us try to understand how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be applied to workplace, to drive higher levels of motivation in employees.

1. Physiological needs

The physiological needs are the most basic employee needs. It starts from offering a job as per individual’s assessed skillset and capability, to providing for conducive work environment with his/her basic needs are met (eg- access to clean drinking water, clean air, ambient room temperature, meal breaks with facility for meals/snacks, hygiene and cleanliness in work premises). Finally, timely payment of salary/wages to support oneself and family, is a basic need at this level.

2. Safety

Safety needs include creating job security, ensuring safe and healthy work environment through sound OH&S management system in place, providing safety of employees and property through vigilant security systems, and minimizing the risk of injury or physical/ mental fatigue through ergonomically designed office furniture and differently-abled friendly workspaces.

Safety needs for employees extend to below:

a) All employees deserve fair treatment, non-threatening cordial behavior, b) fair compensation for all, c) practice right-fit-for-right-job, d) awareness of employees’ rights and complaint redressal mechanisms, e) entitlement to necessary medical insurance and superannuation benefits by employer.

High levels of uncertainty owing to business/ projects at hand, possibilities of layoffs and downsizing, lack of clarity on objectives/targets, changing job descriptions, lack of visibility to internal opportunities of advancement lead to a culture of mistrust, high stress levels, low motivation and poor productivity levels.

Even the strongest leaders and best performers need psychological safety, and this would be ensured only when organizations create a culture where employees are encouraged to take risk or extend their work boundaries without the fear of failure or insecurity.

3. Belongingness and Love

A sense of belongingness and association can only be created in a work environment of fair treatment of all employees, a need that must get fulfilled at previous level.

This need may be satisfied by creating a friendly environment and a workplace conducive to collaboration and communication with others.

The employees must feel a sense of pride about the organization they work for and the role they perform. They should be praised and appreciated for their accomplishments.

The leaders must be cautious about their own behaviors and attitudes towards team members. Leaders must lead by example by a) discouraging all form of discriminative conduct towards any employee, b) by eliminating unconscious bias towards or against any individual, c) by encouraging a culture of mutual respect and inclusiveness for all employees, d) by staying proactive on curbing office politics and e) preventing pin-pointing behaviors/ blame games.

The employees must be encouraged to team-up for challenging tasks, to collaborate and perform together, without the fear of failure. They should be provided necessary training and tools to perform efficiently.

Company-sponsored social get-togethers outside office setting, business and social meetings with teams, mentoring and coaching programs to cater to employees’ career development needs, and formulating policies that focus on improving work-life balance by employees, will help in fulfilling needs of employees at this level.

By running employee surveys, and by engaging in one-to-one dialogs with employees, the leaders can get a better understanding of an employee’s specific needs and to mutually agree on actions to help improve the situation.

When employees feel themselves to be part of the team and can see themselves to be a good fit in the role, they tend to feel motivated to work hard and achieve results. 

4. Self - Esteem

In the workplace, it is important for employees to feel that they are growing, advancing and achieving results, and that they are recognized for achieving those results. Self-esteem is about realizing self-worth, feeling respected in one’s own eyes and by those in peer group.

Employees must be provided with opportunities to contribute at a level appropriate to their capabilities, and to display their talents. With such opportunities of continuous learning and personal development, employees develop a sense of achievement and feel motivated to work harder and stretch their limits.

They should be kept sufficiently informed and encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. When they feel their contributions are recognized and appreciated, they are able to move towards self-actualization.

There must be a culture of a) giving respect to co-workers, b) encouraging formal and informal feedback mechanism, c) implementing fair performance management system, d) promote opportunities for career growth and personal development, and e) involving employees in goal-setting and decision-making processes.

Providing promotion opportunities at work, recognizing a person’s accomplishments verbally or through more formal reward systems, and conferring job titles and appropriate level of decision making independence that communicate to the employee that one has achieved a position of high responsibility within the organization, due attention to office size/location, recognition symbols like medals/badges/business cards, perks are among the ways of satisfying esteem needs of employees.

5. Self-actualization

The final level on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is self-actualization, which translates to maximizing an individual’s potential at work. This level is all about actualizing the apex of one’s potential, growth and experiences.

Employees at this level feel that they can contribute towards greater cause for the organization, feel empowered with envisioning and driving change, with a reasonable degree of autonomy and independence of actions. They can channelize their potential, experience and learnings towards creating positive impact for the business and for the organization.

They are highly engaged in the organization’s growth story and completely synchronize their individual targets with business objectives. They inspire trust among others and lead teams with passion, pride and shoe high level of ownership.

Self-actualization needs may be satisfied by providing growth opportunities that can be tailor-made to the specific needs of these employees. Encouraging participation in decision-making in managing operational and financial affairs, providing for job rotation or lateral/vertical expansion in current roles, by providing independence for innovation and risk-taking, often by entrusting direct access communication with clients and customers, by sharing insights about financial health matters of organization and by delegating the employee as an official face for representing the organization.

Conclusion

For employees who endeavor to reach the top-most level in their workplace, must be self-actualized, which means they understand their skills, abilities and their own motivators. They should stay proactive to fulfil their needs positively and work their way towards success in current role.

Highly motivated and engaged employees tend to infuse positivity in other team members.

A workplace culture wherein employees feel safe, respected, encouraged and valued, certainly display high level of engagement, high productivity rates and better quality of delivery, reduced absenteeism and reduced costs, and increasing number of self-actualized individuals writing the growth story of the organization.

How Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be used to motivate employees?

Which hierarchy of needs is the most well known theory of motivation?

How Maslow's hierarchy of needs affect the performance of an employee?

What kinds of needs motivate employees?