Companies are constantly looking for work tools, organizational structures and systems capable of increasing productivity, improving performance and increasing turnover. Many studies have shown that one of the keys to achieving these goals lies in increasing and maintaining high the employees’ motivation.
Is there a way to quantify a collaborator’s motivation?
Thanks to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, since 1954 it has been possible to measure a person’s motivation. Maslow, in fact, created a motivational model of human development based on a hierarchy of five basic needs arranged in a pyramid — this model is called “Maslow’s Pyramid”.
It seems that human beings unconsciously seek to satisfy these needs according to the sequence indicated by Maslow. When basic needs are met, the instinct is to move up the hierarchy to reach the top of the pyramid.
The knowledge of this tool can be fundamental for companies that want to understand both the dynamics and the behaviours of collaborators in the business context. In fact, learning to understand the mechanisms that regulate professional relationships allows companies to intervene concretely to manage internal dynamics more effectively.
Here is how Maslow’s model was born and what its benefits are.
A reference model for companies for over 70 years
Since the 1930s, various studies have flourished on the behaviour of social groups, reaching the attention of companies and organizations in the first post-war period. In those years, companies were called to adapt to a changing market and to a society that was quickly revealing new needs and new forms of consumption. Competition was beginning to take on a completely new aspect, and companies had to find ways to make their staff work with increasing quality and productivity. This is how companies began to seek more effective skills, abilities and motivational levers to stimulate their employees to perform better.
A real school of thought was therefore born, aimed at finding winning solutions to exponentially increase the motivation of all employees — from blue-collar workers to management levels — and consequently to increase profits.
It was within this context that Abraham Maslow published “A Theory of Human Motivation”, a text that remains a reference model for scholars today, since it arranges in ascending order the needs that each individual seeks to meet, listing them hierarchically by priority. Observing the organizational context through Maslow’s scale of motivation makes it possible to shed light on behavioural dynamics in the business world.
The levels of needs of Maslow’s pyramid applied to companies
Level 1 – PHYSIOLOGICAL (base of the pyramid)
These are the basic needs related to the physical survival of the individual, such as breathing, sleeping and eating. In the world of work, this level corresponds to basic survival needs such as salary.
Level 2 – SAFETY
These are the needs that refer to having stable employment, which in turn guarantees family stability. The company is therefore an important pillar in the life of individuals. If employees feel protected and on solid ground, and if they work in a context that allows them to think freely about future projects in their private life, loyalty to the company will be greater, with all the benefits that this brings.
Level 3 – BELONGING
To be loved and to love, to be part of a group, to cooperate, to participate — these are the aspirations of every human being, who by nature needs to feel part of a community.
For companies, this translates into building a relationship of mutual trust with their employees. If each person has their own place in the company, feels respected and considered as part of the team, results will improve and corporate profits will inevitably be higher. There are many advantages of a healthy working environment, both for employees and for the company.
Level 4 – ESTEEM
Each individual desires to feel valued and appreciated by those around them and to feel secure in their beliefs. When people are confident in their life context, they are more positive. Similarly, if employees work in an environment where they feel appreciated and suited to their roles, they will inevitably generate positive results.
Level 5 – SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, social acceptance. It is about the realization of personal potential — the desire to “become all that one is capable of becoming.”
Self-fulfilment in the workplace corresponds to autonomy on the job, the quality of professional engagements, and the specialization of skills.
Why does Maslow’s theory work?
Maslow claims that the needs of human beings constantly change: when one need is met, another arises.
Will the salary increase received two years ago motivate us for ten years?
Are the energies we have given to work in the last ten years the same that we want to invest in the next ten?
Maslow’s theory works because the pyramid follows the individual’s evolutionary process — it is a tool in motion, just like human life itself. It is therefore essential to take this into account in corporate personnel management, to align employee growth and development with their fundamental needs.
