Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: How Leaders & Managers Can Motivate Their Teams

Imagine a workplace where everyone did what you needed them to do, without the need for micro-management and prodding. Even better, picture employees doing these things because they genuinely want to, not because they have to!

Motivation is arguably the most critical lever managers and leaders have for creating high performance.

By using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to motivate your employees and fulfil their needs, you will likely see them make maximum contributions, often without needing to cajole them continually.

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

In 1943, Abraham Maslow, a humanist psychologist, proposed a theory in his paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” that he called the Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow believed that all humans have needs that must be satisfied, ranging from the most basic to the most complex.

According to Maslow, people will be consumed by their basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs.

To better understand this principle, imagine that you haven’t eaten for three days; your dissatisfaction with this situation will likely provide you with great motivation to find food. At that moment, it is improbable that you’ll be motivated to do an excellent job at work and get recognition for doing so.

Maslow supported this idea by saying that “A person who is lacking food, safety, love, and esteem would most probably hunger for food more strongly than for anything else“.

In short, not meeting a physiological need will often monopolise a person’s thoughts, dwarfing any idea of fulfilling higher-level needs, such as esteem and recognition.

Once the core needs at a given level are satisfied, the next level in the hierarchy will emerge more strongly and become a driver of behaviours and thoughts. Maslow’s theory emphasises that a fulfilled need is no longer an active motivator; therefore, once a person has satisfied the requirement, they will seek to meet a higher-level need.

What are the 5 Levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Maslow presented us with the five basic human needs:

1. Physiological needs
2. Safety needs
3. Social needs
4. Esteem needs
5. Self-actualisation needs

Maslow’s model presents the hierarchy of needs in a pyramid; here’s our adapted version:

Basic Needs (Level 1-2)

The first two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy encompass the basic requirements that are essential for human survival.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Level 1: Physiological Needs

Our basic physiological needs (aka physiological drives) ensure our survival. Some examples of physiological needs include:

• Food
• Water
• Shelter
• Warmth
• Sleep and rest
• Homeostasis (this is the body’s natural mechanism for maintaining a stable, constant environment)

These physiological needs are the most basic in Maslow’s hierarchy and provide people with a sense of security that they’ll survive another day. Once met, we move on to more advanced needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Level 2: Safety Needs

Once a person’s physiological needs are satisfied, the safety needs at level two of the hierarchy come into play. The safety needs are focused on ensuring we do not put ourselves in harm’s way and fulfil an innate desire for control and predictability in our lives. These safety needs include:

• Protection from the elements and danger (e.g., shelter, clothing, PPE)
• Peace of mind and freedom from fear
• Job security and/or a means of income
• Legal protection
• Financial safety (having a steady income to provide for oneself)
• Security against accident, sickness and injury both at work and at home

The most common needs people experience at this level include feeling safe within one’s own house or workspace, knowing their family is protected when they’re away from them, and financial security by having enough funds to afford basic necessities such as food and water. Once these needs are met, individuals will move onto more complex needs.

Psychological Needs (Level 3-4)

These address emotional and social needs that help individuals feel valued and accepted within their social circles.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Level 3: Social Needs

When we have fulfilled our safety needs, we quickly become aware of a need to satisfy our social needs, including feeling close to others, interpersonal relationships, and belongingness. We often refer to this level as being about love and belonging. Specific social needs include:

• A need for friendship: our social psychology drives our desire to have close friends and people we can rely on
• A need to feel loved and accepted
• A sense of belonging: this is one of our most important psychological needs, which we can fulfil by being part of groups and clubs or having friendships with people who share similar interests.
• A sense of love or affection refers to the feeling of being loved or cherished by others.
• A need for family connection: A feeling that one belongs in a family unit is often significant and closely linked to a sense of love.
• A need to be liked: Most people know this one; more often than not, a person desires to be liked and to be looked upon in a positive light

Isolation, anxiety, and depression are all undesirable states for a person, and this is where social needs are so important. When these needs are denied, it can be easy for a person to experience a deterioration in their psychological well-being.

As leaders, we rarely speak of love in business, and I think we’re getting it wrong! Maslow said that:

“We must understand love; we must be able to teach it, to create it, to predict it, or else the world is lost to hostility and to suspicion.” Abraham Maslow

There’s a great book on leadership and love by Steve Farber. In his book “love is just damn good business“, he tells us that if we can make love an integral part of business culture, employees and customers start to feel genuinely valued.

It seems he agrees with Maslow; by attending to the need for love, you can foster employees who are more loyal, innovative, creative, and inspired, and that translates to a great customer experience.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Level 4: Esteem Needs

When we have fulfilled our social needs, we find ourselves seeking the fulfilment of esteem needs. A need for self-esteem refers to a person’s sense of self-worth and typically aligns with a person’s ability to live up to their expectations or standards in some regard.

Esteem needs include:

• A feeling of competence or mastery over one’s environment (e.g., a work project, a sporting achievement)
• A need for self-esteem: A person’s sense of self-worth is typically the result of one’s ability to live up to their own expectations or standards in some regard
• Recognition at work, at home or within society in general
• The desire to be necessary or significant among other people, such as by being considered an expert
• The need for autonomy and independence, meaning a willingness to act as oneself without being told how to behave

These strategies are great ways to help deal with insecurities by providing an environment where people can feel competent while feeling they live up to your expectations and their own.

Self-fulfilment Needs (Level 5)

The final level focuses on personal growth and fulfilment that is driven by a sense of purpose.

Maslow’s Hierarchy Level 5: Self-actualisation Needs

Once the four levels of the Maslow hierarchy are fulfilled, and esteem needs are checked off, one can ascend to the pinnacle of Maslow’s motivation pyramid, where self-actualisation needs live.

Self-actualisation is the desire in human nature to fulfil our potential. Abraham Maslow defined it as “…the desire for self-fulfilment and to become more and more of what one is and everything that one is capable of becoming”.

Self-fulfilment is the desire to achieve personal growth needs and reach one’s full potential. Self-actualisation needs include:

• A need to be appreciated and recognised, meaning the desire for others to notice your accomplishments
• The need for creativity involves improving skills and generating new ideas or solutions.
• A need for personal growth, which is the drive to learn more about yourself, either by trying out something you never tried before or learning a skill that can improve your self-esteem.

Self-actualisation also includes becoming aware of one’s faults to work on them and improve. Managers can help by developing people to become more self-aware and accepting of their weaknesses.

Self-awareness of this nature is evident in all effective learning and development programmes, particularly leadership training courses, management training courses, and emotional intelligence courses.

Only when a person is aware of their strengths and weaknesses can they work on self-development.

Self-actualisation needs are typically only achieved by a minority of people, often because some skills (most often soft skills) are scarce. Typically, it is difficult for a person to become self-actualised if all other needs are not at least partially satisfied.

Maslow himself provided an important lesson when he said, “…the person’s intellectual integrity must be preserved…he cannot feel like his boss has taken control of him.” (Maslow)

Self-transcendence (Level 6)

Although Maslow’s Hierarchy often depicts five levels, there is a lesser-known sixth level which he deemed to be the true pinnacle of motivation. He referred to this higher-order need as ‘self-transcendence’.

The concept of self-transcendence represents the drive to move beyond the self and individual concerns. In doing so, you connect with something greater, such as spirituality, the greater good, or a higher purpose.

Self-transcendence involves a sense of unity, oneness, and interconnectedness with the universe, as well as the pursuit of meaning and values that extend beyond personal interests.

In the context of Maslow’s hierarchy, self-transcendence is considered a higher-order need that emerges once lower-order needs have been satisfied.

It represents a further stage of personal growth and self-discovery, where an individual seeks to understand their place in the world. In doing so, they cultivate a deeper connection with others, nature, and the universe as a whole.

Maslow’s 6th Level Hierarchy (Infographic)

Why is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Important in the Workplace?

As a business owner, it’s incredibly important to provide your team with a working environment that is both stimulating and comfortable.

Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs helps foster this atmosphere, but there are additional benefits to cultivating this environment.

• Workplace culture: Managing workplace culture is crucial to driving and maintaining a happy and sustainable business. Aiming at targets attached to the love & belonging elements of the theory will help foster this positive culture.
• Improved employee engagement: Enhancing the esteem of your workers by praising good performance fosters greater employee engagement.
• Enhanced productivity: Linked to engagement, research from Gallup indicates that businesses with engaged employees experience a 18% improvement in productivity compared to those with lower engagement levels.
• Reduction in absenteeism: Likewise, the same research found that businesses with more engaged/happier staff saw improvements in absenteeism of around 81%, proving that better, more connected, and holistic work environments foster healthier employees.
• Easier recruitment and retention: When you use Maslow’s approach to create a better working culture, you find recruiting and keeping talent in the brand easier. People want to be part of successful and improving companies.

How to Apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace

If you are a manager or leader of people, Maslow’s theory will help you understand your employees’ needs and provide you with a framework to motivate them toward positive discretionary behaviour (that’s doing positive things because they want to, not because they have to).

Maslow’s hierarchy illustrates an individual’s inherent desire to be “self-actualised“, which is when they can use their talents and capacities to the fullest.

Your aim as a manager or leader should be to fulfil all the needs of your people, as this is the secret sauce for motivation and high performance.

People are motivated by a desire to achieve or maintain the conditions that support the five needs.

Applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to business is not a complicated job. Instead, it’s a commitment to cultivate a cohesive work environment.

Ultimately, establishing strong workplace standards and connecting them to your employees’ safety, sense of belonging and self-esteem is the best way to implement this shift.

Once established, the safeguarding of this environment should be completed through your management team.

Applying the Hierarchy For Managers

However, reports on change management show that employees are more likely to embrace the shifts when there is buy-in from leaders.

For example, a person will go to great lengths to ensure they have water (or, if you’re like me, coffee :-)), as without it, the physiological need will go unfulfilled. In this particular example, withholding water will have serious consequences (not advised) and will undoubtedly hinder any ascent toward self-actualisation.

If you want to apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to motivate your team, understanding the hierarchy of needs can provide a structured framework that helps you do so.

A top tip for managers trying to create certain behaviours is that an act has more than one motivation. So, focusing on just one need as a lever isn’t your best strategy.

Best Practices to Implement Maslow’s Theory at Work

Here are the best practices for effectively integrating Maslow’s theory into your workplace to foster a thriving, motivated team.

#1. Understand Individual Needs

It’s essential when applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to consider the needs, goals and aspirations of each team member.

Organising regular one-to-one meetings, performance reviews, or informal meetings can help leaders learn more about these needs.

Only by taking the time to understand their team can leaders tailor their approach to meet those needs effectively.

#2. Prioritise Basic Needs

Meeting the basic needs of individual team members in the workplace should be the bare minimum for leaders and managers.

Ensure your staff have a comfortable work environment, adequate health and safety measures in place, competitive salaries and benefits.

#3. Foster a Positive and Inclusive Culture

A positive work environment that values open communication, collaboration, well-being and diversity can result in a team’s increased motivation and productivity.

Offering ample opportunities for collaborative work (such as teamwork) and social interaction (team building or social events), as well as being able to resolve conflicts swiftly and fairly, can all contribute to creating a positive culture. In turn, this leads to your team’s social needs being met, resulting in a more motivated and happy team.

Struggling to create this culture? Visit our blog on the 5 dysfunctions of a team to see where teams can fall down and what you can do about it.

#4. Provide Recognition and Feedback

To meet self-actualisation needs, it’s essential to regularly appreciate the achievements of your team and provide constructive feedback and praise for a job well done.

Rewards for good work can be provided, depending on the individual’s or team’s needs, such as bonuses, event tickets, vouchers, etc. 

#5. Support Growth and Development

To support the self-esteem and self-actualisation needs of team members, leaders and managers could regularly provide opportunities for growth and development to enhance skills.

This could be achieved through training programmes, networking events, mentorship opportunities and more. 

#6. Empower and Delegate

Giving staff members autonomy and control over their work can significantly increase motivation and self-esteem.

Delegating some of your important tasks to them can make your staff feel empowered and motivated. 

#7. Communicate clearly

Effective communication is always key when leading a team.

Being transparent with your team about goals, aims, results, and organisational changes can help them feel involved, appreciated and valued by the company. Staff members will have greater trust and security in your team, resulting in increased motivation to perform well.  

#8. Encourage Work-Life Balance

Encouraging a work-life balance is imperative for increased motivation.

Offering perks such as flexible working, regular breaks and increased holiday allowance are becoming the bare minimum for modern, grown-up companies.

Looking out for your staff’s well-being helps prevent burnout, stress and job turnover. 

Impact of Growth and Deficiency Needs on Workplace Motivation

Maslow believed that deficiency needs (the first four levels), which provide the foundation of his hierarchy, play a significant role in motivating behaviours in human beings.

Physiological, safety, social, and esteem needs all arise from deficiency. That is to say, satisfying these lower-level needs is essential if we are to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences.

In contrast, Maslow’s highest-level needs are referred to as growth needs. These emerge from a desire to grow and are not due to a deficiency or lack of something.

• Taking steps to improve areas associated with deficiencies should be a priority in developing workplace motivation.
• When those enhancements have been completed, owners can then focus on ensuring personal development-focused goals to drive worker motivation.
• Regular one-to-one meetings with managers, clear career progression routes, and training opportunities to improve skills, such as ILM Level 3 Leadership and Management or ILM Level 5 Leadership and Management, can all be considered positive outcomes.

Challenges in Adapting Maslow’s Hierarchy in the Work Environment

However, it’s worth remembering that the Hierarchy of Needs approach is not a silver bullet to workplace harmony.

Although it is a celebrated theory, a recent article by Steve Denning for Forbes highlighted that the approach does face challenges. Some of these are:

• Employee buy-in: As renowned Psychologist Pamela Rudge states, “Here’s the problem with Maslow’s hierarchy. None of these needs, starting with basic survival on up, are possible without social connection and collaboration”.  This is also true when applying the theory to business environments. For the approach to be practical, employees and management must buy in and collaborate.
• Budget: Details like team-building days or the creation of breakout spaces. Therefore, businesses need to assess whether their company budget allows for spending on items that improve motivation.
• Remote workers: Recent statistics indicate that 25% of the UK workforce continues to work from home. Hybrid workers may feel less included with in-office approaches and can struggle to feel a sense of belonging.
• Individual needs: Everyone’s needs are different, e.g. not every employee wants a ‘social’ work environment. Your management team needs to work with individuals on a 1-2-1 basis to create an approach that works for them.
• Ineffective communication: As we alluded to in the first point, the approach succeeds or fails based on the mutual sharing of information between managers and workers. Without collaboration, the hierarchy of needs cannot improve your approach.

Criticisms and Limitations of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs certainly has its critics. Here are some of the points of contention that are prevalent in critiques of the theory:

“Human needs don’t follow a strict hierarchy“

• While some studies have shown evidence of hierarchical needs, most research has not substantiated it.
• Wahba and Bridwell, in their ‘Maslow reconsidered’ paper, reviewed the swathe of studies testing Maslow’s theories. Their work culminated in them reporting a lack of evidence to support the ranking of needs and the existence of a hierarchy.
• While Maslow’s hierarchy is generally portrayed as following a rigid order, Abraham himself indicated that the ‘average order’ does not always follow. He said that “…it has been observed that an individual may permanently lose the higher wants in the hierarchy under special conditions“.
• Maslow explained that we should not see individual needs as sole determinants of specific behaviours; we should examine many behaviours as being motivated, in part, by each of the five needs, with some or all affecting the motivation in some way.
• You can find an example in the act of eating, invariably driven by multiple human needs and motivations. In this example, eating may come from the physiological need to fill your stomach. Simultaneously, the act may be motivated by a need to make things feel better or more comfortable.
• Also, the meal may be eaten with friends meeting the need for social connection. I know that the odd doughnut passes my lips with the multi-faceted needs of hunger and comfort eating after a bad day at the office! If I can do that with friends, then all the better.
• Motivation theories aren’t synonymous with behaviour theory
• When considering how to affect changes in behaviour, we can’t focus narrowly on just motivation theory; to do so would ignore biological, cultural and situational determinants. As a manager, you must consider each person and situation individually, considering both basic needs and broader personal preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the workplace.

Can Leadership Development Programs Address the Needs of Employees?

Recognising the needs of employees should be a massive part of leadership development. 

Including Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in our TSW management development helps showcase what is important to staff in a simple and actionable way.

Ensuring that your management team has the foresight and understanding to implement this approach, business-wide and on an individual targeting basis can make all the difference to performance.

How Can Organisations Identify Which Level of Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs More Attention in Their Workplace?

Speaking to workers is the best way to understand what level of the Hierarchy is most essential or lacking for them.

Performance statistics will show part of the picture, but it’s essential to delve deeper into your organisation to identify where stress lies.

The hierarchy can be implemented industry-wide, but is best leveraged as part of individual progression plans.

What Are the Signs That an Organisation Needs to Reassess Its Approach to Maslow’s Hierarchy?

There can be several signals that your business needs to pivot internal procedures to accommodate Maslow’s Hierarchy.

Some of these could be:

• Increased employee absenteeism
• Lack of internal progression
• Reduction in productivity
• High staff turnover
• Stagnating profits
• Low staff morale
• Overworked staff
  

As a business owner, your management team are the connection between you and your employees. Listen to their feedback to watch for these signals.

However, your management team is also part of the business. As such, they need ample opportunities to progress and the ability to develop the skills necessary to implement Maslow’s Hierarchy on a more individual basis.

ILM Courses with TSW Training are ideal for fostering these improvements within your team.

How Can Managers Ensure That They Are Meeting Employees’ Needs in a Remote Work Environment?

28% of the global workforce now operates remotely. With this in mind, business owners must also learn how to motivate their teams remotely.

There are several ways leaders can ensure they meet the needs of remote workers:

• Ensure pay remains fair
• Establish regular catch-ups
• Implement clear staff expectations
• Set performance-related SMART objectives
• Share advice on remote setups and useful software
• Schedule regular virtual team-building opportunities
• Ask for honest feedback on areas for improvement from remote staff
• Provide the right tools for the job – from technology to company credit cards and purpose-built policies & procedures